Center of Gravity
by MomsDarkSecret
Summary: The relationship Yuki and Shuichi started in Specific gravity continues. Yuki is away at college and Shuichi has embarked on a musical career. But problems arise because of the distance between them, Shuichi’s new career and Tohma’s plans to win Yuki for
1. Long Distance Romance

**Summary**: This is a Gravitation AU fic and it is a sequel to my story Specific Gravity. You should probably read Specific Gravity first for this story to completely make sense, but you can read it standalone if you want. Two years have passed and the relationship Yuki and Shuichi started in high school continues, even though Yuki is now away at college and Shuichi has embarked on a musical career. But problems are cropping up because of the physical distance between them, Shuichi's burgeoning musical career and Tohma's determination to win Yuki for himself.

**Disclaimer**: This is an original work of fiction, but the characters of Shuichi Shindou, Eiri Yuki, Hiroshi Nakano and Tohma Seguchi are borrowed from the Gravitation manga and TV series by the illustrious Maki Murakami.

**Warning**: This story contains strong sexual content of a homosexual nature. This chapter contains explicit language and sexual situations.

**Author's Note**: Shuichi sings several songs during this story and the lyrics are included for some of them. I wrote all the lyrics in this story, but please keep in mind I am a poet not a musician. There is no music to go with these songs, so please don't ask me!

-o-o-o-

Chapter 1: **Long Distance Romance**

Shuichi Shindou kept dancing from foot to foot, alternately clasping his hands in front of him and shaking them out nervously.

"Geez, Shuichi, could you please stand still?" Hiroshi Nakano, Shuichi's best friend, finally whispered. "You're driving me nuts. Do you have to pee or something?"

"No, I'm just really nervous!" Shuichi made an effort to stand still. "This is our first real concert! After all those dives we played in during high school, we're finally headlining on a real stage. There must be a thousand people out there!"

Hiro clasped Shuichi's shoulder and shook him gently. "You'll do fine. We've rehearsed our playlist a thousand times. You could sing these songs in your sleep." Hiro chuckled. "In fact, I bet you do!"

Shuichi grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, I know. But what if they don't like us?"

Hiro laughed softly. "There's no way that will happen." He leaned close and gazed directly into Shuichi's eyes. "I believe in you."

Shuichi stared back. "Hiro…"

"We're gonna be great."

A stagehand wearing headphones appeared beside them. "Ok, you Bad Luck guys. Get ready. As soon as the opening act clears the stage, we'll bring the lights down. When the lights come back up, you're on."

"Right!"

Shuichi clasped his hands together and closed his eyes. "I wish you could be here, Yuki," he whispered. "I hope you're thinking about me right now."

"Get your mind off Yuki and on the music!" Hiro muttered. "No distractions!"

"I'm focused!" Shuichi exclaimed. "I'll have them screaming for more!"

"Good, 'cause we're on!" Hiro grabbed Shuichi's hand and dashed onto the stage. They split up at center stage as Shuichi took his place behind his keyboard and Hiro picked up his guitar. He played a complicated riff as the lights came up.

Shuichi adjusted the mic in front of him and waved wildly at the cheering crowd. "Hello everybody! We're Bad Luck and we're gonna rock you!"

Shuichi played the opening chords of their first song and Hiro joined him on the second bar. The musical introduction was bright and upbeat, designed to get the crowd energized and into the music. An appreciative cheer rose up and then faded to rhythmic clapping as the audience got into the song. When the introduction was over, Shuichi leaned toward the mic and started to sing.

_I wake up every morning and I start to dance!  
My friends think I am lonely 'cause I'm all alone.  
But how can I be lonely when you're in my heart?  
I laugh because they don't understand._

_The sun shines in on me and warms my soul.  
I feel so close to you from far away.  
Your arms embrace me when I look inside.  
My heart is full of your love!_

_Yesterday you called me just to make me laugh.  
I kept you on the phone until you fell asleep.  
I dreamed of you all night until my sheets were wet.  
But I laugh because no one understands._

_The sun shines in on me and warms my soul.  
I feel so close to you from far away.  
Your arms embrace me when I look inside.  
My heart is full of your love!_

Shuichi swung into a raucous musical interlude and Hiro danced forward, his fingers flying over the guitar strings. The audience clapped in time with their arms above their heads, a general roar of approval issuing from every throat. Hiro spun toward Shuichi and winked. Then he leaped forward and skidded onto his knees, until he was just inches from the edge of the stage and leaned back, his long hair sweeping the floor as he kept playing without missing a beat. A loud cheer nearly drowned out the music and then quickly faded away as Shuichi leaned toward the mic again.

_Whenever we're together I just hold you tight.  
I feed upon your kisses and your gentle love.  
My love for you sustains me when it's time to go.  
But I laugh because we both understand._

_The sun shines in on me and warms my soul.  
I feel so close to you from far away.  
Your arms embrace me when I look inside.  
My heart is full of your love!_

They finished out the piece with a long musical riff and a final flourish. The audience exploded into applause.

Hiro sidled close to Shuichi. 'It looks like we're off to a great start."

"Yeah!" Shuichi whispered back. "Let's keep 'em wound up!" He launched into the next song.

-o-o-o-o-o-

"I thought you were going to see your boyfriend this weekend," Tohma purred. He lounged on his stomach on Eiri's dorm room bed with his heels in the air and his chin resting on his hands.

"He has a concert," Eiri replied shortly. He was seated at his desk with his textbooks spread out in front of him.

"And you didn't go?" Tohma's voice brimmed with mock concern. "Doesn't he always invite you?"

"Yes." Eiri frowned at him. "But what do you care? And anyway, when else was I going to study for the English exam?"

"I understand," Tohma said with a sly smile. He sat up on his elbows. "But you've finished studying. Let's go out. I found this great new club I want to try."

Eiri sighed. "You're asking me out as a friend, right?"

"Absolutely."

"Really?" Eiri's eyes narrowed.

"Of course!" Tohma rolled off the bed. "Let's ask Takano and Matsuro to join us."

"Very well." Eiri rose and followed Tohma out the door. "By the way, I'm going to see Shuichi next weekend," he said casually.

"Oh?" Tohma lifted an eyebrow at him. "Before the calculus exam?"

"The calculus exam isn't for two weeks."

"On the original schedule." Tohma grinned. "But my connections tell me it's going to be moved up a week because there's a rumor that someone got hold of the exam and is planning to post it on the web next week."

"Why would anyone need to cheat on a calculus test?" Eiri snorted in disgust.

Tohma winked at him. "We can't all be as brilliant as you. But what I heard was that a whole new exam is being generated and they're giving it to us a week early to make sure no one has time to steal it."

"Shit!" Eiri chewed on his lip. "Well, I'm going to see Shuichi anyway. I promised him. Besides, I want to see him."

"If you think that's wise…" Tohma let the sentence trail off and he looped his arm through Eiri's. "I keep telling you, if sexual release is what you need, I would be more than happy to accommodate you. I would love to be closer to you, you know."

"Stop it, Tohma!" Eiri pulled his arm free. "I don't just see Shuichi for sex."

"But he certainly does seem to satisfy you. I suppose the same must be true for him. I can't imagine not being satisfied by a night with you. I wonder what he does when he needs you and you're not around."

"Quit trying to make trouble," Eiri growled. "Shuichi only wants me. If he really needs me, he calls me and jerks off on the phone."

"How romantic."

"Shut up."

Tohma chuckled softly to himself. "I'm not trying to make trouble, Eiri. You're my friend. I just don't want to see you made a fool of by some empty-headed little boy-toy."

"Shuichi's not empty-headed."

"He barely graduated from high school."

"But he did graduate! Can we please change the subject?"

"Whatever you want. Look, there's Takano and Matsuro. Hey guys!" Tohma waved and trotted ahead of Eiri to meet up with the other two.

Eiri followed more slowly, frowning to himself. Sometimes, being friends with Tohma seemed more trouble than it was worth. He was a lot of fun to be around, but when he got into these moods and started trying to insinuate himself between Eiri and Shuichi, it was extremely irritating. Emotional love might still be a strange feeling for Eiri, but he was sure that his feelings for Shuichi were genuine. Thinking about Shuichi sent a warm thread of desire trickling down into his loins. They hadn't been together for two weeks and Eiri missed him. And it would be another week before they got to see each other again.

"I'm not missing next weekend," Eiri muttered to himself. "I'll take my books with me and study afterward."

-o-o-o-o-o-

Eiri pulled up outside the rather tacky building where Shuichi and Hiro shared an apartment. They had moved in together right after graduating from high school so they could focus on their musical career. Eiri was not sure he was entirely comfortable with this arrangement. Shuichi and Hiro were very close. They'd been friends for a long time. There were still times when it seemed like Hiro knew things about Shuichi that Eiri did not and Eiri didn't like the way it made him feel. Jealousy was for losers. He stepped out of the car and slung his backpack over his shoulder.

"Yuki!"

Eiri looked up at the shout. Shuichi was leaning over the edge of their small balcony, waving furiously. Eiri waved back.

"Watch out you don't fall, idiot!"

Shuichi disappeared and Eiri braced himself as he entered the building and started up the stairs. He only made it up two of the three flights before Shuichi barreled into him, sending his backpack flying.

"Yuki! You're here! I'm so glad!" Shuichi flung his arms around Eiri's neck. "I missed you so much!"

"Yeah, I missed you too," Eiri said as he tried to disentangle himself from Shuichi so he could retrieve his backpack. He just barely managed to snag a shoulder strap before Shuichi grabbed his other hand and started pulling him up the next flight of stairs.

"I hope you didn't eat! I made lunch for you and everything. Hiro went out, so we have the place to ourselves all night." Shuichi grinned at him. "We can make as much noise as we want."

Eiri smiled back. "I hope you got take-out. Your cooking sucks."

"Humph!" Shuichi made a face at him. "I've been practicing. Hiro and I have to feed ourselves, you know, and we don't make enough to eat out all the time." At the next landing, Shuichi led the way toward the front of the building, where the door to his apartment stood wide open.

Eiri lifted an eyebrow at him. "That's not very safe. You guys have a lot of expensive equipment in here."

Shuichi laughed. "It was just for a minute." He dragged Eiri inside and closed the door. "Now it's just us." He flung his arms around Eiri's neck again and kissed him passionately. Eiri embraced him and responded to the kiss, his tongue stroking eagerly against Shuichi's. Urgent desire welled up in him and he was suddenly rock hard. The slight trace of hunger he'd felt when Shuichi mentioned lunch was instantly buried by the aching need radiating from his erection.

"We can eat later," he mumbled against Shuichi's lips. "I need to get you naked right now."

"I even made soup!" Shuichi protested, although the words came out severely muffled by Eiri's tongue.

"Later!" Eiri repeated. "Sex now, food later." He caught the bottom edge of Shuichi's t-shirt in both hands and yanked it off over his head. Shuichi's slender torso might not have attracted anyone else, but Eiri found it deliciously arousing. He leaned down and licked Shuichi's left nipple with the tip of his tongue.

Shuichi shivered. "Oh! Yuki, we should…" he moaned as Eiri rubbed the front of his cargo shorts. "The bedroom…" Shuichi gasped. "We should go… to…" His erection was hard inside his cargo shorts and Eiri gripped it through the cloth.

"Why?" Eiri murmured. He licked Shuichi's nipple again. The little bud at the center had already popped out and he teased it with his tongue. "You said Hiro wouldn't be back until morning."

"Well… yes…" Shuichi panted. "But…"

Eiri straightened up with a smile. "All right. We'll go to the bedroom. I want to tie you up anyway."

Shuichi's eyes went round. "But Yuki…!"

Eiri slipped an arm around his waist and pulled Shuichi toward his bedroom. The apartment had two bedrooms and one living room that also served as kitchen, dining room and music room. There was a small bathroom between the bedrooms. The bedrooms were tiny; just big enough for a futon and a small dresser for clothes. But the small size suited Eiri. During one of his first visits, he'd installed two decorative lamp holders in the wall just above the futon. He had told Shuichi they were reading lamps and they were. However, each holder had a small ring at the bottom which was just the right size for the slender, velvet covered cords he had also brought with him. Now he pushed Shuichi gently down onto the futon and tied his wrists with the cords, restraining him.

"Yuki!" Shuichi squirmed. "You know how much this turns me on." He struggled, tugging against the cords.

"Of course I know." Eiri smiled. "That's why I like doing it. Now, since there's nothing you can do to stop me, I think I'll just enjoy myself."

"That's not fair!" Shuichi struggled some more. "I haven't seen you for weeks and you won't even let me touch you?"

"You can touch me later." Eiri traced a circle around Shuichi's nipple. "I want to touch and taste everything. I've been studying very hard at college. I want to use my senses and let my brain take a rest for a while." He leaned over. "I think I'll start here." And he slowly stroked his tongue across the nipple he'd been playing with.

Shuichi groaned. "Please! I want to do stuff too!"

"Oh, you'll get to do stuff," Eiri whispered. "You'll get to come over and over again. And you'll get to make me come over and over again. You're going to love it." He closed his lips around Shuichi's nipple and sucked it. Shuichi's helpless moan of pleasure delighted him. Having sex with Shuichi was always good, but periodically tying him up made it simply exquisite. Shuichi became uncontrollably responsive when he was helpless and Yuki loved playing with his body. He licked and sucked Shuichi's nipples until Shuichi was writhing with pleasure. Then he slowly licked his way down the center of Shuichi's chest to his abdomen. Shuichi's erection was straining against his cargo shorts. "Shuichi," Eiri said, "if I didn't know any better, I'd say you're not wearing any underwear."

"Um…" Shuichi gasped.

Eiri slipped his hand inside the waistband of Shuichi's shorts. "You're not," he announced. Shuichi's hips twitched as Eiri's fingers toyed with the tip of his erection. "And you're leaking."

"Oh god!" Shuichi groaned.

Eiri undid Shuichi's shorts and pushed them down over his hips. He stroked one finger down the length of Shuichi's erection. "What do you suppose I should do with this, eh?"

Shuichi arched his back, panting.

"That's what I thought." Eiri leaned over and slid his mouth onto Shuichi's erection. He didn't have to work it long; Shuichi came almost immediately.

"Ah! Eiri!" Shuichi cried out. "I need more!"

"You're going to get more," Eiri assured him. He wiped his lips with his fingertips. "But first, I haven't tasted all of you." He pulled Shuichi's shorts the rest of the way down and removed them. "Shall I start at the top or the bottom?"

"Please!" Shuichi wiggled his hips and spread his legs. "Don't torment me! You know what I want!"

"Yes, yes, I want that too." Eiri stroked a finger across Shuichi's opening, but he didn't penetrate him. Shuichi groaned. "But you're not begging hard enough yet. I think I need to get you really excited first."

"I am excited!" Shuichi arched his back again, writhing suggestively. "You can fuck me as many times as you want! Please!"

Eiri smiled. "I like that. Utter submissiveness is good, but I'm striving for abject servitude. I think I'll start at the bottom. I like your toes."

"Argh!"

Shuichi writhed and moaned helplessly as Eiri deliberately sucked on each and every one of his toes. Shuichi responded erotically to toe-sucking even when he wasn't tied up. It was especially erotic for him when he was. His ankles were also delightfully sensitive and Eiri licked those too. He worked his way slowly up Shuichi's legs, but he avoided entering his erogenous zone. Instead, he switched to Shuichi's fingers and wrists and started working his way down Shuichi's arms. Then he turned Shuichi onto his side so he could lick the back of his neck and wander slowly down his spine, with pleasurable side excursions under his arms and along the edges of his rib cage.

"Yuki!" Shuichi moaned. "I need you to fuck me! I'm so hot! You're driving me crazy!"

"That's rather pitiful begging," Eiri admonished him. "I need to hear something much more persuasive if you really want to feel my cock in your ass."

"Please!" Shuichi cried. He rolled onto his back and spread his legs wide apart, twisting his heels into the futon as he writhed. "You're the only one who can satisfy me! I need you!"

"That's a little better." Eiri got between his legs. "Maybe a little more stimulation will do the trick." He stretched out, pushed Shuichi's legs farther apart and began to lick him intimately.

Shuichi gasped aloud. "Yuki!"

"Hm?" Eiri kept licking.

"If you keep doing that, I'll come!"

"Really?" Eiri didn't stop.

Shuichi wriggled and writhed and finally arched up with a gasp of pleasure, cum spurting across his abdomen.

"You weren't kidding." Eiri sat up. "Maybe you really are ready." He started to undress and Shuichi got hard again as he watched him. He started panting through his open mouth.

"Hurry up, Yuki," Shuichi panted. "I can't stand it anymore. I wanna get fucked!" He tugged against his bonds. "Do it really hard!"

Eiri chuckled as he finished undressing. "I don't know if that's properly subservient, but it's definitely enticing." He knelt down between Shuichi's legs and wet his fingers in his mouth. "Now try not to come until after I get my cock in, ok?" He inserted his fingers into Shuichi slowly.

Shuichi gasped. "Yes! Give me more, I want more!"

Eiri worked his fingers in him until Shuichi's opening felt nice and relaxed. Despite Shuichi's desperate urgency, Eiri was mindful of the fact that they had not had sex in three weeks. Shuichi had tightened up a little. He took his fingers out and shifted forward. "Now that I've had my fun, it's time to get serious," he said with a smile. He lifted Shuichi by the hips. "Ready?"

"Yes!"

Eiri thrust into him and Shuichi rolled his head back with a cry of pleasure. Eiri closed his eyes with a gasp. Shuichi always felt so good. Every time Eiri took him, the initial shock of penetration always sent a wave of delirious pleasure through him. Sometimes it was so strong it almost made him come. He sat frozen for an instant, waiting for the near orgasm to pass before he started moving, driving himself into Shuichi with hard, deep thrusts. Pleasure built up in him as he moved, making him harder and his need more urgent. He pounded his hips against Shuichi's bottom, desperate to get every last inch of his throbbing erection all the way into the warm, tightness of Shuichi's body. Shuichi's cries of joy built rapidly toward climax and he came long before Eiri was finished, but Eiri didn't mind. In fact, it pleased him. He enjoyed their lovemaking even more when he managed to climax Shuichi multiple times during the same sex act. He kept ramming himself into Shuichi until arousal exploded into orgasm. He went rigid, gasping and shuddering helplessly as his erection emptied itself. When it finished, he sank down onto his heels with a sigh.

He rubbed his palms along Shuichi's thighs. "Did you come again?"

"Uh huh." Shuichi nodded weakly. "That was so good, Yuki." His face was flushed and he panted in long, deep breaths. "Will you untie me now? I want to hold you."

"I thought I got to fuck you as many times as I want?"

Shuichi regarded him with enormous dark eyes. "But I want to kiss you."

Eiri smiled. "Very well. I suppose I can indulge you this one time." He crawled to the head of the bed and untied Shuichi's wrists. "But I reserve the right to re-enslave you at any time."

"Ok." Shuichi smiled and cupped Eiri's face in his hands. "But I want lots of kisses first." He pulled Eiri's face down to his and kissed him warmly on the mouth.

Eiri stretched out beside Shuichi and embraced him. "I did miss you, you know."

"You did?" Delight lit up Shuichi's face. "I know you must be so busy with classes and studying, sometimes I wonder if you even have time to think about me."

"I think about you all the time, Shuichi," Eiri said seriously.

Shuichi blinked at him. "Really? Because I think about you all the time too."

"Even when you're in the middle of a concert singing?"

"Well, maybe not then," Shuichi laughed. "But all the rest of the time." He cuddled against Eiri's side. "I wish you could come to one of my concerts. I'd really like it if you could see me perform."

"Your performance right here is the one I like the best."

"Oh Yuki!" Shuichi punched his side gently. "You can have that any time. Watching me sing is different."

Eiri smoothed Shuichi's hair back and kissed his forehead, but he didn't say anything. Their relationship had started before Shuichi had begun to enjoy professional success. Now that he was starting to succeed at his musical career, it sometimes made Eiri feel superfluous. Shuichi didn't need him in order to be a successful musician. A twinge of uncertainty touched him.

Almost as if he was aware of Eiri's train of thought, Shuichi murmured, "I'll always want you to watch me, Yuki, no matter how famous I become."

For some reason, this made Eiri feel even more uncertain, not less. "Tell me you love me, Shuichi."

"I love you, Yuki."

Yuki rolled on top of him and pushed his legs apart. As he penetrated Shuichi and felt the wave of pleasure wash over him, he embraced Shuichi tightly. _I don't want to lose this feeling. I really do need him._


	2. Priorities

_**Warning**: This chapter contains explicit language and sexual situations._

-o-o-o-o-

Chapter 2: **Priorities**

Shuichi skipped to the kitchen with a happy smile. An afternoon of sex with Yuki always left him feeling so happy. "I'll heat up the soup, ok?"

"I guess. You're sure it's edible?"

"Yes!" Shuichi made a face at Yuki and then noticed what Yuki was doing. "How come you brought your backpack?"

"I have to study for a test this weekend." Yuki plunked his backpack on the floor beside the table. "It shouldn't take too long."

"I thought you said we would have the whole weekend together." Shuichi tried to keep the disappointment out of his voice.

"I know I did, but the test got moved up." Yuki dug a textbook and a binder out of his backpack and set them on the table. "But I decided not to postpone our weekend over it." A slight smile touched his lips when he looked at Shuichi. "I didn't want to go another week without seeing you."

Shuichi blinked in surprise as he returned Yuki's affectionate gaze. Until now, Yuki had always put his school work ahead of Shuichi, or so it had seemed. This was the first time, as far as he knew, that Yuki had deliberately placed him first. "Really?" His voice squeaked a little, betraying his surprise.

"Besides, with my luck, you'd schedule a concert for next weekend and we'd have to postpone again."

"I don't have that many concerts!"

"It seems to me like you do." Yuki sat back on his heels. "You're starting to get quite popular, I think."

Shuichi nodded quickly, distracted by the sudden turn in the conversation. "I think we are too!" he said excitedly. "Some promoters have started calling our manager, asking for us by name and everything!"

"That's great." Yuki flipped open his textbook. "So what about that soup? If you let me study while we eat, we can go to a movie later."

"Ok!" Shuichi stepped into the little kitchenette and turned on the burner under the soup. He adjusted the flame carefully and then opened the refrigerator to get the pickles. "Do you want some sweet egg? Hiro made it and it's pretty good."

"Sure."

Shuichi brought the food to the table and forced himself to sit quietly while they ate. It was hard. Being quiet was not one of Shuichi's strengths, especially with Yuki sitting right there looking as gorgeous as only Yuki could. His golden hair spilled across his forehead as he leaned over his book, his eyes intent on the page. Although Shuichi loved his smile, Yuki's serious expression was much sexier. When he looked like this, it was all Shuichi could do to keep his hands to himself. He tried not to squirm, but it was hard to sit still.

Yuki continued to study while Shuichi cleared the table after their meal. Since Yuki was obviously not finished, Shuichi plugged in his headphones and started working on his latest song. He closed his eyes as he practiced, because looking at Yuki was too distracting. Arousal made it very hard to focus on what he was doing.

He started when Yuki touched him on the shoulder. He pulled off his headphones. "Are you finished?"

Yuki nodded. "Yes. It's been over two hours."

"Really?" Shuichi glanced at the Mickey Mouse clock hanging on the wall. "I didn't realize that much time had passed."

"You and your music…" Yuki smiled and tousled his hair. "Ready to go see a movie?"

"Ok! Can I pick the movie?"

"As long as you don't pick something too mind-numbingly stupid."

"Aw, c'mon! That new Kung Fu movie is supposed to be great!"

"I heard it caused epileptic seizures in little kids."

"I'm not a little kid!"

"Oh, really?"

"Quit teasing me!" Shuichi grabbed Yuki's arm and pulled him toward the door. "Besides, what movie would you pick?"

"There's a historical drama I would like to see."

"Yawn!" Shuichi exclaimed. "Sounds like a snoozer. I want some action!"

"In that case, why don't I take you back to the bedroom?"

"After the movie! And dinner! You can take me out for ramen."

"You call that dinner?"

"I'm poor. Ramen is a feast for me and Hiro."

Yuki chuckled. "Very well. A Kung Fu movie, ramen for dinner and then back to bed. Sounds like a great date."

"You bet!" Shuichi clung to Yuki's arm. "I'm so glad you're here. This is going to be the best weekend ever."

-o-o-o-

Later, at the ramen shop, Shuichi bounced up and down on his stool as he ate.

"That movie was great! I loved that fight scene on top of the waterfall!"

"The whole thing was highly improbable and in complete violation of the laws of physics."

"That's what made it so great!" Shuichi shoveled a pile of noodles into his mouth. "Hey, by the way, did you get Maiko's letter?"

"Yes, I got it." Yuki glanced at him. "How did you know she wrote to me?"

"She told me. I hope you answered her. Maiko likes to stay in touch with her friends. She writes to me all the time." Shuichi laughed. "I keep telling her to send email instead but she likes calligraphy. So she sends me letters and I reply via email."

Yuki chuckled. "That's silly. But yes, I did answer her letter. She worries about you."

"Still?" Shuichi rolled his eyes dramatically. "Geez, _one time_ Hiro and I had to choose between paying rent and eating and she acts like I'm on the verge of starvation. We've been earning our own keep for awhile now. We even paid everybody back after that time."

"We all know that, Shu-chan, but we still worry."

"That's why we play so many concerts. When we perform, we get paid." Then Shuichi paused as Yuki's comment sank in completely. "_We_? Do you mean you worry about me, too?" He stared at Yuki in surprise. Shuichi knew that Yuki cared about him, but Yuki had never struck him as the worrying kind.

Yuki frowned slightly. "Yes, I worry about you, too. I can't say I've ever really liked the idea of you and Hiro living on your own."

Coming from anyone else, that statement might have sounded jealous, but Shuichi knew Yuki had no reason to be jealous. But that meant Yuki was worried about _him_ and the thought sent shivers of delight up and down his spine. He giggled.

Yuki's frown grew more pronounced. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing." Shuichi grinned at him. "It's just nice thinking about you worrying about me, that's all." Yuki snorted and resumed eating his ramen. Shuichi picked up his bowl to drink the soup. _Yuki worries about me! That is so great!_

He chattered happily at Yuki all the way home, telling him all about their last concert. "And the crowd loved us! We did two encores and they kept shouting for a third. Our manager wouldn't let us do another. He says we need to save something for the next concert. Oh and guess what?" Shuichi did not pause long enough for Yuki to guess. "We might get an album deal! Hiro says I shouldn't say anything to anyone because it's still kind of iffy, but our manager's trying to get us signed with a record label. Then we'd really be pros. I'm so excited!" He bounced up into the air. "Let's hurry home and have lots of sex. I want to celebrate!"

"It doesn't sound like there's anything to celebrate yet," Yuki replied calmly.

"Maybe not, but let's celebrate anyway."

"I don't need a reason to want to go to bed with you, Shuichi."

Shuichi laughed happily. "I know!" He grabbed Yuki's hand and spun around in front of him. "But thinking about it gets me all excited. I've wanted to be a rock star since I was a little kid and it's all starting to come together now. Plus I have you!"

"You're nuts."

"I'm crazy happy!" Shuichi agreed cheerfully. He dragged Yuki up the three flights of stairs to his apartment eagerly.

"You're too energetic," Yuki huffed as they reached the third landing. "You'll wear me out before we even get into bed."

"Hah!" Shuichi exclaimed. "I know just how to get your engine revved up." He kicked the door shut behind them and pulled Yuki into the bedroom. "I have coconut-flavored scented body oil. I'm going to strip you naked and massage you with oil all over your whole body so that your skin is all shiny and soft and smooth and tasty. And then I'll follow that up with a long slow blow job. After that, I'll lubricate myself with the same oil so I smell as good as I feel and then I'll climb onto your great big cock and ride it till I burst."

Yuki drew in a ragged breath. "That sounds… quite nice."

"You'll love it," Shuichi purred. He began to undress Yuki slowly. He loved taking off Yuki's clothes. Despite Yuki's complaint about being tired, his body was in excellent condition. He was slender, but his stomach was trim and flat and his chest firm. His arms and legs were smoothly muscled. His buttocks were tight and powerful. And his erection…Well, that was the stuff that dreams were made of. Shuichi couldn't resist sliding his hands over Yuki's pale skin as he undressed him.

Yuki's breathing grew more rapid. "If you feel like doing the blow job first…"

"No jumping the gun," Shuichi murmured. "I'll get to that. First the massage and the oil. Lie down." Yuki stretched out on Shuichi's futon as Shuichi picked up the oil. "Now just lie still and enjoy this. Let me do all the work."

"You know I prefer being in control."

"Do I need to tie you up?"

Yuki stretched his arms out to either side. "No. I'll behave." He closed his eyes.

"Good." Shuichi poured a stream of oil into his hand and rubbed it between his palms to warm it. "Here we go." He pressed his hands onto Yuki's stomach and began rubbing slowly. The feeling was utterly delicious. The oil warmed as he worked it into Yuki's skin, lifting the pale blond, nearly invisible body hairs so that Shuichi could smooth them all in the same direction. He carefully followed the grain of Yuki's skin, swirling the hairs in their preferred direction so they lay flat. He worked his way across the firm ridges of Yuki's stomach and up across the smooth planes of his chest. Then he went across his shoulders and down his arms, and out to the very tips of his fingers. Yuki's legs came next. Shuichi bent one knee up so that he could work all the way around Yuki's firm thighs and muscular calves. He carefully oiled each foot, even working the oil in between the toes.

"Time to turn over."

Yuki groaned. "How am I supposed to lie on my stomach when I'm this hard? Can't you do something about it?"

"Nope. Too soon." Shuichi grabbed an arm and forced Yuki to roll over. Yuki wriggled his hips and shifted around until he managed to find a somewhat comfortable position. Shuichi resumed the massage, starting at Yuki's shoulder blades and working his way down to his lovely backside.

"You're killing me, Shuichi," Yuki mumbled into the pillow.

"I haven't massaged your face."

Yuki moaned. "You promised me a blow job."

Shuichi chuckled. "So I did." He patted Yuki's bottom. "So turn over. I can hardly get at you like this."

Yuki rolled onto his back with a growl. "Quit stalling and start sucking!"

"So impatient!" Shuichi laughed. He bent over Yuki's hips. "You remember I did say a long slow blow job, right?"

"Shuichi!"

"Right!" Shuichi got to work and Yuki closed his eyes with a groan of delight.

"Ah!" Yuki thrust his hips up against Shuichi's mouth eagerly. "That feels good!"

Shuichi took his time. He knew the range of Yuki's pleasure very well and knew exactly how long he could drag this out. He enjoyed driving Yuki crazy with excitement. He listened to Yuki's moans of delight, judging his own performance by how loud Yuki got. When he judged the time was right, he started moving faster, working Yuki into a frenzy that ended with a delicious climax.

"Oh, Shuichi!" Yuki arched up against him, gasping with pleasure.

"Now then," Shuichi said when Yuki was finished. "On to stage two." He stripped out of his own clothes with his eyes fixed suggestively on Yuki's. When he was naked, he straddled Yuki on his knees and held the oil out in front of him. Slowly, he poured oil onto his fingers, working it around until his fingers were coated, ignoring the drops that dribbled onto Yuki's chest. Still keeping his eyes on Yuki's, he reached around behind himself and slowly inserted his fingers. Even doing it to himself, it felt good and his lips parted with a soft moan.

Yuki licked his lips in anticipation.

Shuichi oiled himself slowly, repeating the application process two more times. His own erection was achingly stiff when he finished. He smiled down at Yuki. "Are you ready?" He gripped Yuki's erection with his oil-coated hand and rubbed it briskly. Yuki gasped and nodded. "Then here we go." Shuichi inserted Yuki's erection into himself and settled onto it with a gasp of joy. Yuki closed his eyes with a groan.

Shuichi started out slow, savoring the feel of Yuki inside him. He rode up and down on that big shaft with his eyes closed, loving the way Yuki moved with him, his hips rising and falling in time with Shuichi's movement so his erection went all the way in. This was the real reason he liked to give Yuki a blow job first. Yuki's erection lasted a lot longer the second time and Shuichi got a nice long ride out of it. Being intimately joined with Yuki gave Shuichi a sense of fulfillment that went deeper than anything else, even singing. He really loved Yuki more than anything.

They continued moving slowly at first, gaining speed only gradually as the need for climax began to make itself felt. But eventually, arousal and excitement gave way to urgent desire and they began moving faster and faster, panting with pleasure. Yuki caught Shuichi by the hips and began thrusting up into him eagerly, his heels digging down into the futon. Shuichi moved with him, bouncing up and down on his knees, his head thrown back as he gasped through his open mouth.

"Oh Yuki!" Shuichi cried. "I'm going to explode! It's so good!" And then he did explode. Orgasm sent waves of pleasure blasting through him and his back arched stiffly as he came.

"Ah!" Yuki gasped. "Yes!" His hips thrust up against Shuichi's body and he shook helplessly.

Shuichi could feel the spasms of Yuki's climax pumping inside him. Then he went limp and Shuichi sank down onto his chest. "That was really good, Yuki."

"Yes," Yuki agreed breathlessly. "It was fantastic." He slid his hands up and down Shuichi's back. "I love you, Shu-chan."

Shuichi snuggled against him happily. "I love you, too, Yuki."

-o-o-o-o-o-

Shuichi trudged resignedly back into the apartment and closed the door behind him with a long sigh.

Hiro looked up and shook his head. "You know, I think you would be better off if you didn't see him at all. You're always so depressed after he leaves."

Shuichi slumped down onto his knees. "That would be even worse," he sighed. "It's just so good when we're together, I always feel so empty when he has to go back."

"That's what I mean. Maybe it would be better if you stopped seeing him and focused on the band for now. Once he graduates, if he wants to live near you, then you can see him all the time."

"What do you mean 'live near me'?" Shuichi sat up straight. "When Yuki gets out of school, I'm going to move in with him. We're going to live together."

"Oh really?" Hiro lifted an eyebrow. "What about the band then? Are you just going to quit that?"

"No! Why would I do that?"

Hiro frowned. "I thought the reason we moved in together was so we could work on becoming a great band. I don't see how we can do that if you're living with Yuki-san."

"But… but Yuki won't finish college for two more years! If we haven't made it as a band by then, we probably aren't going to. And if we have, is it really that important for us to live together?" Shuichi blinked at Hiro. He felt really strange. Hiro was his best friend and he was really important to Shuichi. He didn't want to think about having to choose between him and Yuki. He needed them both; it was just two different kinds of need.

Hiro returned his gaze for a moment; then he smiled and shrugged. "You're right. If we don't make it in the next few years, we probably won't." He leaned forward and winked. "Maybe it's just your parents talking. They keep asking me about your relationship with Yuki. I sometimes think they wish you were having an affair with me."

Shuichi stared. "What?"

Hiro laughed. "Don't worry about it. I'm not jealous or anything. It's just that I already disappointed my parents by becoming a guitarist instead of a doctor. I don't want to look like a fool for choosing music as my career."

"You're a great musician, Hiro," Shuichi said earnestly. "Even if Bad Luck isn't a success, it doesn't mean you can't make it as a guitarist. I think you're wonderful."

Hiro laughed again and strummed his guitar. "Let's practice. Now I have a reputation to live up to."

Shuichi laughed too and flopped down in front of his keyboard. "What do you want to play?"

"You choose. You're the lead singer."

"Ok!" Shuichi leaned forward and started playing.

-o-o-o-o-o-

"You look well satisfied." Tohma leaned against the doorframe of Eiri's room, regarding Eiri with large blue eyes.

Eiri refused to turn around. "Did you need something, Tohma?"

"Just you, like always." Tohma glided into the room and closed the door. "Did you study for the calculus test or spend the whole weekend fucking?"

"I studied," Eiri replied shortly.

"I hope Shuichi wasn't too disappointed."

"He wasn't." Eiri turned in his chair and frowned at Tohma. "What do you want, Tohma? I'm trying to finish an article."

Tohma's eyes sparkled. "Is that for the school paper?"

"No." Eiri turned back to his desk. "It's for a periodical."

"Another one? Won't that be the third one?"

"It's the fourth."

"You're becoming quite the published author, Eiri." Tohma leaned on his shoulders and whispered in his ear. "The next thing you know, you'll be publishing a novel. I'm so excited for you." He chuckled seductively. "Or maybe I'm just excited. I get so turned on when I'm alone with you."

"Get out, Tohma," Eiri growled. "I don't have time for your little games right now. We can talk tomorrow."

"Oh, fine." Tohma straightened up, but he continued to massage Eiri's shoulders for a moment. "If you need _anything_, don't hesitate to call me."

"Whatever. Let me finish this."

"Good night, Eiri."

Eiri sighed with relief when he heard the door click shut behind Tohma. Tohma's pushiness was starting to get out of hand. Eiri wasn't quite sure what to do about it. He did nothing to encourage Tohma, but Tohma would not take no for an answer. He seemed determined to get into Eiri's pants, no matter what.

"Maybe I should just stop being friends with him," Eiri muttered. He stared at the article in front of him. "Dammit! I lost my train of thought." He started re-reading the article from the beginning. _Stupid Tohma!_


	3. Opportunities

**Disclaimer Addendum**: Mr. Sakano gets added to the story in this chapter. I don't own him either. And I'm also planning to make up lots of stuff about N-G Productions that's different from the manga and the TV show, but it works better for the story.

_**Warning:** This chapter contains explicit language and sexual situations._

-o-o-o-

Chapter 3: **Opportunities**

"Are you listening to me, Shuichi-kun?" Mr. Sakano exclaimed. He shoved his glasses up his nose with the tip of a finger.

Shuichi started out of a reverie. "Yes! I'm listening!"

"No you weren't," Hiro chided him gently. "You were daydreaming again."

Shuichi grinned sheepishly. "Ah… Well… Um… But I'm listening now! What were we talking about again?"

Mr. Sakano groaned. "I've been telling you that a representative from N-G Productions may attend your next concert! Their biggest band just broke up and they're looking for a hot new band to replace them. I've been marketing you to N-G for months now and I think it might finally pay off."

"N-G Productions!" Shuichi squeaked. "They're, like, huge! They really want to hear us?"

"Yes!" Mr. Sakano waved his hands. "If we can get signed by N-G, our future's set!"

Hiro frowned slightly. "What do you mean 'we' and 'our', Sakano-san? Wouldn't they just be signing Shuichi and me?"

"Yes… well…" Mr. Sakano flushed and made a show of straightening his tie. "You see, I told the people at N-G that I would very much like to remain your manager after they signed you and they said, if they did sign you, they would hire me as well to continue managing Bad Luck."

"I see…" Hiro said slowly. "So it we impress the scout and get a contract from N-G, you get a cushy salaried job as a result?"

Mr. Sakano's flush deepened and he cleared his throat nervously. "I hope you don't mind, but I've always dreamed of working for a company like N-G. It's a place where I can establish a long career as a valuable employee." He clasped his hands together and his expression turned dreamy. "I've always dreamed of being a salaried employee!"

"Sheesh!" Hiro muttered.

Shuichi clapped Mr. Sakano on the back. "That's great Sakano-san! We'll do our best for you, won't we, Hiro?"

"Ah, sure."

"Well then," Mr. Sakano continued with a bright smile. "Have you got your play list ready for the concert tomorrow?"

"We have a concert tomorrow?"

"SHUICHI!" Tears sprang into Mr. Sakano's eyes.

"Don't listen to him, Sakano-san," Hiro laughed. "We're all set. N-G will be so impressed they'll want to sign us up on the spot."

Mr. Sakano grasped Hiro by the shoulders and hung his head. "Thank you, Nakano-san! I'm so glad one of you is taking this seriously."

"Hey, I'm taking it seriously!" Shuichi exclaimed. "I've got two new songs to sing and everything!"

"Did you give me the music for those?" Hiro asked innocently.

"It was the score I left on top of your guitar."

"Oh. I might have used that to blow my nose."

"That could be a problem."

Mr. Sakano listened to this exchange with his eyes getting rounder and rounder. "Please tell me you're joking!" he finally exploded.

Hiro and Shuichi began to laugh.

"We're just teasing you, Sakano-san," Hiro assured him. "We've been practicing the new songs for weeks. You've heard us."

"Oh, that's right." Mr. Sakano heaved a sigh of relief. "I don't know why you want to put me in an early grave. I can't take this kind of stress."

"Nonsense!" Shuichi cried cheerfully. He clapped Mr. Sakano on the back hard enough to send him stumbling forward a few steps. "You're tough."

Mr. Sakano coughed weakly. "Right. Why don't you start rehearsing?"

"Good idea!" Shuichi started singing on the spot, his rich voice filling the room with sound.

-o-o-o-o-

Shuichi peeked around the edge of the curtain to get a glimpse of the auditorium. His eyes went round at the sight of the packed house. He ducked back behind the curtain with an excited squeal. "Oh man, Hiro! Did you see how many people are out there? I can't tell if the N-G scout is here or not! They're standing shoulder to shoulder!"

"Sakano-san said she was," Hiro replied calmly. "And he also said the tickets sold out." Hiro's eyes sparkled. "We're too small of a band for scalpers to be speculating on tickets for our concert, so that means all twenty-five hundred people will be out there, screaming your name."

Shuichi flushed with excitement. "This is so cool! I can't wait to get out there! I just want to bask in all that positive energy."

"Five minutes, Bad Luck." The technician walked by without even looking at them, the instruction sounding like an afterthought.

Hiro chuckled. "I bet he won't be so casual about talking to us once we sign with N-G."

"That's right!" Shuichi agreed immediately. He bounced up and down on his toes. "I'm ready to go! I want to sing!"

"That's the spirit!" Mr. Sakano exclaimed. He appeared behind them, his glasses reflecting the house lights. "Ms. Wakabe from N-G is in the third row, Shuichi, but don't try to look for her. Just give your usual sparkling performance."

"You know me, Sakano-san!" Shuichi kept bouncing up and down. "I love performing. Let's go! Let's go!"

The house lights went down, the stage lights went up and the crowd began to cheer. The technician reappeared. "Ok Bad Luck. In three, two, one…" He counted the numbers down with his fingers as well and pointed to the stage when he got to one.

Shuichi bounded onto the stage, waving furiously. "Hello everyone!" The crowd roared in response. He bounded to the center of the stage, where his keyboard and the microphone waited. "I'm Shuichi Shindou and we're Bad Luck!" The crowd roared again as Hiro strolled onto the stage more casually. He picked up his guitar and strummed the opening chords of their first song. Shuichi pointed at him. "This is Hiro Nakano, genius guitarist! We have some fantastic songs to play for you tonight. Are you ready to have a good time?" A thunderous "Yes!" roared back at him. "Ok then! Let's go!"

Shuichi began to play the first song. The entire first set was upbeat, hard-charging songs that had the audience dancing and clapping along. Shuichi forgot all about Ms. Wakabe as he sang. Once he started performing, everything else dropped away and his connection with the audience filled him. They finished the first set to thunderous applause.

"That was great!" Mr. Sakano exclaimed when they returned to their dressing room for the break. "I'm sure Ms. Wakabe was very impressed."

"Is she going to come backstage?" Hiro asked.

"Maybe after the concert." Mr. Sakano blinked worriedly at Shuichi. "You'll be on your best behavior if she does come, right? We can't afford to upset Ms. Wakabe. If she loses interest in us, it would be all over with N-G."

"Don't worry, Sakano-san. I've wanted to be a rock star since I was a little kid. I won't blow this opportunity."

"Oh, good." Mr. Sakano didn't sound completely reassured.

When they returned to the stage for the second set, Shuichi waited until the cheering died down before leaning close to the mic. "Hello again. We're back and ready to soothe your spirits with a quiet little number. This is a new song that is sure to touch the heart of everyone who has had to spend time away from a lover. It's called _Looking Forward._" He played the opening notes of the melody, which floated out over the hushed listeners like motes on the breeze.

_On long afternoons when the wind's blowing gently,  
__I hear your voice sigh through the trees.  
__If I close my eyes and listen quite closely,  
__I hear my name called on the breeze._

_I lie in the grass and stare up through the branches.  
__The sunlight makes spots on my face.  
__I can remember you holding my hand  
__The last time I lay in this place._

_The days pass by quickly but nights are so long.  
__I wish that I could be with you.  
__The paths that we walk follow different courses.  
__The times when they cross are too few.  
__I long for the day when our roads join together.  
__On that day my dreams will come true.  
__When we walk side-by-side to our future together,  
__I will shout to the sky "I love you!"_

_A walk in the park soothes the spirit, they say.  
__Mother Nature can open your soul.  
__The natural world gives you strength to endure.  
__But for me it can play no such role._

_There is only one thing that recovers my spirit;  
__Only one thing that lets me fly free.  
__When I stand face-to-face with the person I love  
__And I know that this person loves me._

_The days pass by quickly but nights are so long.  
__I wish that I could be with you.  
__The paths that we walk follow different courses.  
__The times when they cross are too few.  
__I long for the day when our roads join together.  
__On that day my dreams will come true.  
__When we walk side-by-side to our future together,  
__I will shout to the sky "I love you!"_

As the last plaintive notes of the song faded, applause filled the auditorium. Shuichi threw Hiro a happy grin. He was always a little nervous the first time he played a new song and it was uplifting when the audience enjoyed it. He started the next song as the applause died down. He would be happy to keep singing until he dropped from exhaustion. Shuichi loved being on stage; loved the feedback from the audience. It energized him and kept him going. The only thing that could have made it better was if Yuki had been there too. But Yuki hadn't been to one of his concerts for a long time. It seemed like the more popular Shuichi became, the less time Yuki had for him. If Shuichi hadn't been so busy, it would have bothered him more, but between practice and rehearsal, and then the concerts themselves, he didn't really have the time to worry about it. They had a date to see each other the next weekend, after nearly a month apart, but Shuichi had plenty to keep himself busy until then.

After the concert, Mr. Sakano burst into their dressing room with a huge grin on his face. "Ms. Wakabe wants to see us in her office at N-G tomorrow morning at ten!" he announced dramatically. "She said she wants to discuss a contract and putting out a first single within the next few months! Can you believe it?"

Shuichi jumped to his feet and flung his arms around Mr. Sakano's neck. "That's fantastic! A contract and a single! Yippee!"

Mr. Sakano's face starting turning purple and he tugged weakly at Shuichi's arms.

"Uh, Shuichi?" Hiro said. "I think you're choking Sakano-san."

"Oops!" Shuichi quickly released him and Mr. Sakano doubled over, gasping for breath. "Sorry!"

Mr. Sakano waved a hand. "It's ok," he wheezed. He looked up at them with watering eyes. "Please be on time tomorrow. You know the address of N-G's headquarters?"

"I do," Hiro assured him. "I'll make sure Shuichi gets there on time."

"Thank you."

Shuichi handed Mr. Sakano a bottle of water. "Thanks for doing such a great job as our manager, Sakano-san. You deserve to be a salaried employee."

Mr. Sakano accepted the water and the praise with a wide smile, but his eyes were still watering. It might have been tears of joy.

-o-o-o-o-

The three of them met outside the N-G building right on time the following morning. It was Friday and the street was bustling with activity. Nevertheless, they stood right in the middle of the sidewalk and stared up at the towering N-G building with their mouths hanging open.

"That is one impressive building," Hiro noted.

"That's a lot of glass," Shuichi agreed. "It's kind of pretty, the way it reflects the sky."

"Come on!" Mr. Sakano urged. "Let's go. I don't want to keep Wakabe-sama waiting." They entered the building and checked the enormous directory on the wall near the elevators. "Here she is on the thirty-ninth floor. It says we should take the express elevator."

They had the express elevator to themselves. As the doors closed, Hiro glanced at Shuichi.

"Shuichi, you better put your feet under the rail when we stop this time. Remember what happened the last time we took an express elevator."

Shuichi grinned and scratched the back of his head. "Oh that! That hardly hurt at all."

"Nevertheless…"

Shuichi nudged up against the railing as the elevator started to rise. It quickly accelerated to full speed and they all felt their stomachs sink. The numbers flickered rapidly as they zipped past thirty floors without slowing. As they passed floor 31, the elevator began to slow rapidly and their feet lifted up against the toe rails. Their feet settled back to the floor as the elevator glided to a halt with the digital display showing floor 39. The door slid open to reveal a pretty young woman in an attractive gray suit waiting for them. She bowed politely.

"Are you Sakano-san and the band Bad Luck?"

"Yes we are." Mr. Sakano returned her bow.

"Please follow me."

She led them down the hall, around a corner, down another long hall and around another corner before stopping outside a wide double door. She knocked on the door and opened it right away, then stepped back with another bow. Mr. Sakano led the way into the office. It was huge. The entire rear wall of the office was glass, giving a magnificent view of the city. A large desk and chair sat in the center of the office near the window. On the left side, a large screen television stood against the wall with a large couch in front of it. On the right there was a good-sized conference table with eight chairs. An attractive woman of about thirty-five was seated behind the desk. She rose as they entered.

"Thank you for coming, Sakano-san. Please be seated." She indicated three chairs situated in a neat row in front of her desk. She resumed her seat as they sat down. "I was very pleased by your performance yesterday, Shindou-san. You have wonderful stage presence."

Shuichi beamed. "Thank you, Wakabe-sama! I'm very glad you enjoyed our concert."

She turned to Hiro. "I must say you really are a genius guitarist, Nakano-san. You are very skilled."

"Thank you."

She sat back with a smile. "I think your band would be a valuable addition to the N-G label. I think you have the potential to go very far." She tapped a stack of pages on her desk. "I have here a standard contract. It stipulates that N-G Productions will take over all production and scheduling of Bad Luck's appearances and music. We will provide studio facilities, rehearsal space, whatever you need, as well as promoting and advertising the band. Sakano-san would continue as your manager, working as an N-G employee." She pushed the contract across the desk. "I think you will find the terms beneficial."

Mr. Sakano picked up the contract and glanced through it. He paused as something caught his eye. "One moment, Wakabe-sama. It says here that N-G would also have the right to make changes in the band's composition. What does that mean?"

"It's a standard clause," Ms. Wakabe said casually. "But in the case of Bad Luck, it means adding another band member."

"Another member?" Shuichi exclaimed immediately. "Why? Hiro and I work great together." He frowned. He didn't like the idea of someone else coming between him and Hiro.

Ms. Wakabe smiled disarmingly. "I don't want to disrupt the dynamic between you, of course. That would not be in N-G's best interest. However, I think it would help Bad Luck's stage performance. You are a very energetic singer, Shindou-san, but being behind the keyboard limits how much you can move around. I think adding a keyboard player would give you more freedom to move closer to the audience while you sing."

Shuichi started to protest, but Hiro put a hand on his. "I think what Wakabe-sama says makes sense, Shuichi. Audiences love it when a singer comes right up to the edge of the stage and looks into their eyes."

"I guess so," Shuichi muttered reluctantly.

"Did you have someone in mind, Wakabe-sama?" Mr. Sakano asked.

"Yes, I do. He's one of our studio musicians. He's an exceptional keyboard player. I think he'll fit in very well. I'll introduce you to him later, when we tour the studios down on the second and third floors. But before we do that, I would like to discuss which song you think would make a good debut single for Bad Luck."

-o-o-o-o-o-

Shuichi drummed his fingers on the floor while he waited for Yuki to answer his phone. Stretched out on his futon, he toyed idly with the little ring on the lamp near his head, where Yuki liked to tie his wrists during bondage sex. Thinking about sex and Yuki at the same time immediately gave him a boner.

"Damn!" Shuichi muttered. He rubbed the front of his cargo shorts absently.

"_Hey, Shuichi._"

Shuichi sat up. "It's about time you answered. I've called you a dozen times already."

"_I know. I was in a lecture, so I had the phone in silent mode._"

"Oh." It made Shuichi feel better thinking that Yuki had not just been ignoring him. "What were you doing in a lecture so late?"

"_It was a makeup class._"

"Oh. Guess what?"

"_What?_"

"We got signed!" Shuichi crowed into the phone.

"_Dammit! Don't shout in my ear like that!_"

"Sorry!" Shuichi couldn't help giggling. He could imagine Yuki switching hands so he could protect the offended ear. "We signed a contract with N-G today. They're going to promote Bad Luck! We start work on a single of one of my new songs on Monday. The producer, Ms. Wakabe, liked my new song _Looking Forward_, so we're going to make a single of that. After that, we'll make an album with that single and ten or eleven other songs." Shuichi held the phone away from his mouth so he could shout again. "I'm going to have an album, Yuki! Are you proud of me?"

"_Yeah, I'm proud of you, Shuichi. You've worked really hard._"

"Thanks!" Shuichi giggled again. "I wish you could be here. I got all hard waiting for you to answer the phone."

"_Where are you?_"

"In my bedroom." Shuichi lay back down. "I'm lying on my bed imagining you tying my wrists to the wall so I can't resist you." He slipped his hand down inside his shorts. "I'm not wearing any underwear."

There was a long pause. "_Where is your hand right now?_"

"Holding the phone," Shuichi panted.

"_What about the other hand?_"

"Oh, that one." Shuichi writhed as he stroked himself. "It's misbehaving." Shuichi closed his eyes with a soft moan.

"_How are you doing it?_"

"I still have my shorts on. I put my hand inside and I'm pulling on it."

"_Are you using any lube?_"

"No."

"_Then stop right now. Take your shorts off and get the lube. Tell me when you're ready_."

Shuichi turned on the speaker, put the phone down and did as he was instructed. He took his shirt off as well. "Ok. I'm completely naked now and I have the lube."

"_Very good. Put a drop of lube on the tip of your finger and rub it on your right nipple. Keep doing it until I tell you to stop_."

Shuichi squeezed a pearl-size drop of lube onto his left index finger and proceeded to rub it into his right nipple. The sensation was delicious, like getting firmly licked. His cock got harder and he started panting again.

"_How does it feel?_"

"Wonderful!"

"_Close your eyes and imagine it's my tongue_."

Shuichi groaned. His imagination was very good. "I'm getting so hard!"

"_Are you leaking?_"

"Yeah."

"_Wipe it off with your finger and put it in your mouth_."

"Mmm…"

"_Slide your finger in and out of your mouth and rub the tip of your cock at the same time_."

Shuichi did so, moaning around his finger. His imagination was trying to convince him that it was Yuki doing these things, since he could hear his voice while the delightful stimulation was happening.

"_Can you reach the dildo I gave you?_"

"Yes."

"_Good. I want you to lick it to get it wet. Don't use the lube. Run your tongue up the sides in long, slow strokes. Lick all the way around it slowly and then slide the whole thing into your mouth_." Yuki paused. "_Get it all the way in. Suck the whole thing_."

Shuichi followed Yuki's instructions with his eyes closed. Now his imagination was doing its best to convince him that it was Yuki's cock in his hand and not a rubber dildo. He held it in one hand and leaned over it, working his mouth on it until saliva was running down the sides.

"It's really wet now."

"_All right. Get on your knees and lean against the wall. Tell me when you're ready_."

"I'm ready."

"_Ok, stick the dildo in. Make sure you get it in all the way_."

Shuichi moaned as he complied. His legs quivered as he worked the dildo into himself. "It's in."

"_Squirt some lube into your left hand. Start jerking your cock with that hand and work the dildo with the other. Let me hear you enjoy it, but don't come until I say so._"

Shuichi rested his head against the wall as he grasped his cock with one hand and the dildo with the other. He didn't need Yuki's instruction to make noise while he masturbated. As far as his body was concerned, it was Yuki's cock ramming into him, not a rubber dildo. "Ah! Ah! Yuki! Yes! It feels so good! Yes! Ah!"

"_Slow down. Don't come yet_." Yuki's voice sounded hoarse. For a moment, Shuichi thought he could hear Yuki panting. "_Ok. Go faster now. Really ram yourself_."

Shuichi gasped with pleasure as he worked the dildo in and out as fast as he could. His left hand worked on auto-pilot, jerking his cock briskly. Orgasm erupted. "AAHHH!" He slumped over on the bed, gasping and shaking helplessly as his cum pumped out in a powerful stream. "Oh, Yuki! That was so good!"

"_Yeah_," Yuki agreed. He sounded breathless. "_Now you should take a shower and go to bed. It's late_."

"I will." Shuichi cradled the phone close to his mouth. "You're still coming to see me next weekend, right?"

"_I'll be there_."

"I love you, Yuki."

"_I love you, too, Shuichi_."


	4. Diverging Futures

_**Warning:** This chapter contains explicit language and sexual situations._

-o-o-o-

Chapter 4: **Diverging Futures**

"I'm very impressed, Yuki-san." Mr. Hodo, one of the principal editors at Kiyamura Publishing, smiled expansively. He folded his hands across his ample middle. "This story is very appealing. The heroine has just the right mix of innocent charm and gritty determination. Our young female readers should snap this up."

"Thank you, Hodo-sama."

"I find it unusual that someone your age could write with such realism," Mr. Hodo continued. "You don't look like you have suffered difficult life experiences."

Eiri managed to suppress a frown. He found it extremely irritating when people used his age as an excuse to expect less of him and then acted pleasantly surprised to discover that he was quite competent. "I researched my subject matter carefully," he replied in a neutral tone.

"Ah, research! Excellent!" Mr. Hodo chuckled jovially. "Now then, I've discussed this with the other editors here at Kiyamura and we would like to offer you a three book deal, starting with the one you have already submitted. I think you will find our terms extremely generous. Don't worry if the initial royalties seem low. If your books go into a second printing because of demand, which I'm certain will happen, the royalties will go up." He chuckled again. "Our best authors are quite well off, I can assure you."

"I see. If I agree to a deal, however, I wish to retain artistic control of my work. I don't want anyone dictating what kind of stories I write or making changes of which I don't approve."

Mr. Hodo frowned slightly. "Well, you do understand that Kiyamura Publishing only produces stories in a set group of genres."

"I understand. I only plan on writing romance novels."

"Oh, that's all right then." Mr. Hodo perked up. "I think we should be able to arrive at a satisfactory agreement. Now, as to the details…"

Eiri left Hodo-sama's office feeling rather proud of himself. He had thought he would be able to get his first book published, but to come away with a three book deal was even better. He overheard the bevy of assistant editors, most of whom were female, whispering about him as he waited for the elevator.

"He's so cute!"

"Isn't he?"

"I heard Hodo-sama offered him a three book deal after reading his first book."

"Really?"

"Yeah, and he's only twenty years old, too."

"So young!"

"And so good looking!"

"I wish I were young and talented."

The elevator arrived and Eiri stepped in. As he turned to face the doors, he favored the young women with a slight smile, earning squeals of delight that were cut off when the doors closed. Yes, it was good to be young and talented.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Eiri didn't say much during dinner Friday night, mostly because Shuichi wouldn't let him get a word in edgewise. In fact, the only time Shuichi had stopped talking was when he went down on Eiri right after Eiri arrived at his apartment. For several blissful minutes, he hadn't said a word while providing Eiri with some very much needed stress relief. After that, they had fucked urgently for several hours, until Shuichi's growling stomach had finally drowned out his cheerful babble and they had decided to take a break for dinner.

But Eiri didn't feel the need to listen to Shuichi too closely. Most of what he was saying he had already told Eiri on the phone.

"But one of the best things about working at N-G is the cafeteria. It's really good and pretty cheap, too. Hiro and I eat there every day." Shuichi paused and looked around. "It's not like this place though. This is a really nice place. Isn't it kind of expensive? I mean, I have a contract and everything now, but it's not like they pay us. We need to sell CDs and do concerts in order to make money."

"I can afford it," Eiri said calmly. "I sold my book yesterday."

"You what!" Shuichi squeaked. "You sold your book? What book? You didn't tell me you were writing a book!"

"Yes I did. But I was making out with you at the time, so you probably weren't listening."

"That's not true! I listen to everything you say!" Shuichi appeared not to notice the discrepancy between his words and the proof Eiri had just presented. "What's it about again?"

Eiri suppressed a sigh. He had already told Shuichi this, too. "It's a romance novel about a girl from the country who comes to the city to make a living. She gets involved with a rich man who mistreats her and she ends up returning home to the country. It's a little bit trite, to be perfectly honest, but it's the sort of thing girls are reading these days. Your sister Maiko reviewed it for me and she said she liked it very much."

"A romance novel? About a girl? But Yuki…" Shuichi scratched his head. "You sleep with a guy."

"So? I used to sleep with girls. I know what they're like."

"I guess." Shuichi blinked uncertainly and turned his attention to his food.

Watching him, Eiri wondered if Shuichi felt threatened now that Eiri had a career too. Or was he bothered by the idea that Eiri still thought about girls enough to write an entire novel aimed at them?

"I've always planned on becoming a novelist," Eiri said. "Journalism has only been a hobby; a chance to get my work published."

Shuichi hung his head unhappily. "I guess I spend so much time talking about what I'm doing, we never talk about you. You must think I'm really selfish." His eyes grew bright.

"Don't cry, Shuichi." Eiri looked around. No one was paying any attention to them, except for a couple of women who couldn't keep their eyes off of him, but it was still a little embarrassing. "I don't think you're selfish."

"Really?" Shuichi looked up at him. His large eyes looked soft and vulnerable from the unshed tears. When he looked like that, it made Eiri want to kiss him.

"I'm not interested in talking about myself anyway," Eiri said. He sipped his beer. "Let's finish dinner. I want to go back to your apartment."

Shuichi's unhappy look turned to a tentative smile. "Do you want to go back to bed?"

"Yes."

"Ok!"

They finished dinner and walked back to Shuichi's apartment quickly. It was raining and a cold breeze had driven most of the people from the streets. Shuichi huddled against Eiri's side, shivering.

"Man, it's cold!"

"Most people wear long pants in the winter," Eiri remarked casually.

"Long pants remind me of my school uniform," Shuichi sniffed. "And I like having lots of pockets."

"They make cargo pants too, you know."

Shuichi chuckled. "Yeah, I know. But since I spend most of my time indoors writing or rehearsing music, it didn't seem necessary to get more than a few pairs of shorts."

"Maybe you'll start dressing more fashionably when you become a famous rock star." Eiri opened his coat and wrapped an arm around Shuichi. "At any rate, you're much too skinny to be running around half-naked in this weather. You'll catch cold."

Shuichi snuggled under Eiri's arm and pulled the coat tight around him. "I have a sweater on."

"Oh yeah, like that's going to help." Eiri rapped his knuckles gently against the side of Shuichi's head. "I don't want to hear about you getting sick, Shu-chan. Take better care of yourself."

"Yes, sir, Yuki-san!" Shuichi giggled. When they were back inside his apartment, he rubbed his hands together briskly. "Oh, it feels good in here! It's nice and toasty."

Eiri shook water out of his hair. "Let's take a shower. My skin is cold."

They stripped out of their clothes and went into the bathroom. Shuichi turned on the water and adjusted it to a deliciously warm temperature. Then he ducked under the spray and let it sluice over his skin, slicking down his hair.

"Yum…" he sighed. "This feels great."

Eiri stepped in behind him and slid his hands around Shuichi's waist. He pressed up against Shuichi's back and kissed him on the neck. "Yes it does."

Shuichi leaned his head back against Eiri's shoulder. "Oh man, I'm already hard! Being naked, wet and warm with your hands touching me is such a total turn-on."

Eiri slid his hand down and caressed Shuichi's erection. "That's an impressive boner." Shuichi moaned. "But let's not rush things." He slid his hands up Shuichi's torso and captured his nipples with his fingertips. "I think some slow stimulation is in order." He kissed Shuichi's neck again with his mouth open, stroking his tongue across the warm, wet skin. He closed his lips, sucking slightly, before parting them again and licking his way slowly to a new spot. He pinched Shuichi's nipples while he kissed him, twisting the erect nubs gently between his fingertips. Shuichi pushed back against him, moaning softly. The water sluicing down his back formed a small torrent between his firm buttocks, cascading over Eiri's erection. Shuichi rubbed up and down against him, trying to lift himself onto it. "You're getting impatient," Eiri murmured.

"I want to get fucked!" Shuichi groaned. "I can feel how hard you are! I want it inside me!"

"Now, now! How can you truly appreciate it if I just jam it in there the instant it's hard? A good erection should be savored."

"I'll savor it!" Shuichi moaned desperately. "I'll savor it with my ass!"

Eiri chuckled. "I can see there's no convincing you."

Shuichi pushed away from him and leaned against the wall, thrusting his bottom toward Eiri and spreading his legs. Eiri stepped forward and grasped him by the hips. Although he had been teasing Shuichi about taking his time, Eiri was eager to fuck him. He positioned himself and pushed slowly into Shuichi. The delicious, familiar sensation of near orgasm shuddered through him as he penetrated Shuichi's body. He thrust all the way in until his hips were pressed against Shuichi's bottom and then he pulled slowly back out, shivering with excitement.

Shuichi gasped aloud. "Go faster!" he begged. "Do it nice and hard!"

"Don't rush the master," Eiri ordered breathlessly. "I'm working up to it." He continued to move slowly, pushing in and pulling out with deliberate speed. Shuichi groaned deeply with every movement he made. Eiri picked up speed gradually, sliding his hands slowly up Shuichi's body and inside his arms until he was holding him by the shoulders. Then he braced his knees against the inside of Shuichi's legs and starting thrusting up into him urgently.

"Yes!" Shuichi cried out. He lifted his hips so Eiri could get into him more easily, bouncing up and down with the force of Eiri's thrusts. "Oh! Oh! Yes! Yuki! Yes!"

Eiri pounded into him with his eyes closed, loving the feel of Shuichi's body in his arms and delighted by Shuichi's enthusiastic response. Shuichi's passion was one of the things that attracted Eiri the most.

"Don't stop! Oh god! Yuki!" Shuichi cried aloud and he came, his body arching up rigidly as orgasm rocked him.

As his body shook, the spasms jerked on Eiri's cock and he exploded with pleasure. He came hard, pulse after pulse of cum spurting into Shuichi. When he finished, he slumped against Shuichi's back.

"That was really good," Eiri groaned.

"Yeah," Shuichi panted.

"Let's finish our bath and go to bed," Eiri said. "I'm ready to lie down for a while."

"That sounds like a good idea."

Later, in the bedroom, Shuichi curled up against Eiri's side, his right arm draped across Eiri's chest and his head cushioned on Eiri's shoulder.

"I really like it when you can spend the night. I hate sleeping alone."

"That's funny because we hardly ever sleep together." Eiri frowned as an unwelcome thought sprang into his mind. "What about Hiro? He's right in the next room."

"That's not the same," Shuichi said absently. "Besides, we haven't shared a bed since we were kids."

"You used to sleep with him?" Eiri asked. He made an effort to keep his tone casual.

"Sure. We used to sleep over at each other's houses. But it wouldn't be the same now. I mean, back then I didn't know I liked guys. It would seem awkward now."

Eiri absorbed this information in silence. He felt like an idiot for being jealous of Hiro. He knew there was absolutely no reason for him to be jealous. But all the same, the thought kept nagging at the back of his mind about all the time Shuichi spent with his childhood friend. There was no denying they were close. What was to stop Hiro from pushing the relationship that one last step?

"Does Hiro have a girlfriend?"

"Nah. He says he wants to focus on the music right now."

"So what does he think of you having a boyfriend?"

Shuichi shrugged. "I don't think he cares, except when he thinks I'm thinking about you instead of singing."

"I see." Eiri fell silent. Shuichi obviously didn't think there was any conflict between his relationship with Hiro and his relationship with him. But then, in all likelihood, Shuichi didn't really think about it at all. He stroked his fingers through Shuichi's hair and Shuichi sighed happily.

"I love you, Yuki," Shuichi mumbled sleepily. "Let's go out for an American breakfast tomorrow. I want to have pancakes."

"All right."

Shuichi fell asleep almost immediately. Eiri lay awake for a long time afterward, thinking about their relationship. He really did love Shuichi. It was such an odd feeling to care so much about another person. Shuichi was so open about his affection for him; he didn't deserve Eiri's jealousy. Eiri studied his face as he slept. Shuichi looked like a little boy when he was asleep, completely innocent and not the sensuously sexual creature he could be when he was awake. Desire stirred and Eiri closed his eyes. It wouldn't be fair to awaken Shuichi now, after having spent half the day fucking him. He turned on his side and cradled Shuichi in his arms. Obviously, the thing to do was to just go to sleep. He was clearly tired or otherwise he would not be having these foolish jealous thoughts about Hiro. Shuichi loved him and that's all he needed to think about.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Eiri woke up to the sound of Hiro's guitar. _So he's back already,_ he thought sleepily. Then he glanced at his watch. It was after 10am. "Crap!" He sat up. "Wake up, Shuichi. Hiro's back and we were supposed to go out for breakfast."

Shuichi groaned and hid his head under the blankets. "Too early!" he mumbled.

"Get up." Eiri stuck a hand under the blanket and smacked him on the butt. "Do you want pancakes or not?"

"Ok! Ok!" Shuichi shoved the blankets down with another groan. Then he blinked. "Hey! That's my new song." He rolled onto his side and sat up on one elbow. "Hiro's re-working the guitar track a little bit for the single. Since we can increase the volume of my vocals in the studio, we decided to punch up the guitar in a couple of places. Doesn't it sound nice?"

"It's very pretty."

Shuichi sat up and crawled into Eiri's lap. He put his arms around Eiri's neck and kissed him soundly on the mouth. "If I promise to read your book will you promise to come to my next concert? I really want you to see me on stage." He stared earnestly into Eiri's eyes.

"All right, I'll come to one of your concerts. But I can't promise it will be the next one. I do have classes to attend."

"Thank you!" Shuichi hugged him tightly. "I'll send you a text message with all my concert dates and you figure out which one you can attend and I'll send you a ticket."

"Sounds like a plan. Now what about breakfast? I'm hungry." Eiri hesitated. "Should we invite Hiro?"

"Yeah." Shuichi responded without hesitation. "And then let's see if we can get him to go out somewhere so we can come back here and fuck some more." He kissed Eiri sloppily and flopped out of his lap. "I gotta pee."

Eiri slumped back on his elbows and looked around. His clothes were scattered between the bedroom and bathroom doors, jumbled together with Shuichi's clothes. The mess annoyed him a little bit. Shuichi wasn't very neat, but Eiri preferred an ordered environment. He rolled onto his knees and started straightening the room. As he did so, it occurred to him that if he ended up living with Shuichi, he would probably be doing this all the time. He sniffed Shuichi's clothes as he picked them up. _Not terribly clean,_ he thought. _I'd probably have to do his laundry, too._ He dropped Shuichi's clothes in the corner that apparently served as his laundry hamper and got dressed.

Shuichi was still in the bathroom, so Eiri went into the living room. Hiro was seated cross-legged on the floor with his guitar in his lap, his fingers flickering across the strings. He looked up at Eiri with a friendly smile.

"Morning, Yuki-san. Shuichi hogging the bathroom again?"

"Yes."

Hiro looked back down, apparently reading the music sheets lying spread out on the floor in front of him, allowing Eiri to study him openly. Hiro's long hair spilled over his shoulders as he played, swinging slightly as he moved. He had a very natural charm that enhanced his handsomeness. He was just cool; the kind of guy who appealed to everyone, girls and guys alike. Eiri realized he was frowning again. This was the guy Shuichi spent all his time with. They lived together and worked together. They had been best friends since childhood. There were undoubtedly many things Hiro knew about Shuichi that Eiri did not. In the past it had never bothered Eiri if he didn't know all that much about the person he was sleeping with, but Shuichi was different. Eiri felt very possessive about Shuichi. But when he thought about it, he wasn't sure he liked this behavior in himself. Shuichi had a life of his own and so did he. He shook his head, trying to shake the stupid thoughts away.

"We're going out for pancakes. Would you like to join us?"

"Thanks, but I can't." Hiro didn't look up. "I'm meeting Fujisaki at the studio to work on the music track for this song."

"Fujisaki… Is that your new band member?"

"Yeah."

"Shuichi doesn't talk about him much. What's he like?"

"He's a fantastic musician." Hiro chuckled. "Shuichi probably doesn't talk about him because he's a little jealous. He hates it that Fujisaki is better on keyboards than he is. And he's younger, too."

"Younger than Shuichi?" Eiri was surprised.

"Yup. He's only sixteen. He studied music overseas instead of going to high school in Japan. But when he came back, he disappointed his family by refusing to become a classical pianist. So they got him the job at N-G. I think they were hoping he'd hate it so much he'd come running back to the piano, but apparently he thrived on it. Our producer thought he was good enough to work in a band and she was just waiting for the right band to come along. Bad Luck happened to be that band. But he's working out pretty well, even with all of Shuichi's whining." Hiro strummed a finale and looked up. "But we need to finish the music track so Shuichi can start the vocals on Monday, assuming he's finished the lyrics." Hiro chuckled. "He still insists on composing all of our melodies and when he's doing that, he's not writing lyrics. We need to come up with at least four new songs for our concert tour."

"You're going on tour?" Eiri was taken by surprise. Shuichi had said nothing about it.

"Starting in about a month. Didn't Shuichi tell you? It's our big promotional tour. We'll be traveling all over the country. We'll probably be gone for months."

"No, he didn't tell me." Suddenly, Shuichi's endless babbling made a strange kind of sense. He had been talking about everything except the tour. "He mentioned something about me coming to one of your next concerts, but he didn't say anything about a tour."

Hiro looked sheepish. "I probably shouldn't have mentioned it. He was probably trying to think of a way to break it to you."

Eiri said nothing. They hardly ever saw each other as it was. Now, with Shuichi going away for months, they would not get to see each other at all, unless Eiri went out of his way to meet him.

Shuichi appeared at last. "The bathroom's free. Hey Hiro, did Yuki ask you about joining us for breakfast?"

"He did, but I can't. Fujisaki and I are going to work today."

"Oh." Shuichi didn't look or sound disappointed. "We'll see you later then. Are you ready to go, Yuki?"

"Why didn't you tell me about your concert tour?" Eiri crossed his arms.

Shuichi's face fell. "Oh! Um…" He glanced at Hiro, who shrugged and resumed playing quietly. "I'm sorry. I was going to tell you…"

"When? Shuichi, we hardly see each other at all. How are we supposed to have a relationship when we don't see each other for months at a time?"

"I'm sorry, Yuki!" Shuichi put his arms around Eiri's neck and hugged him. "I didn't know how to tell you. I hate that we hardly ever get to spend time together. But this tour is important! This the best way to get people excited about the band and to get them to buy our CDs." He looked up at Yuki and blinked away tears. "You aren't mad at me are you?"

Eiri sighed. "No, I'm not mad. Let's go have breakfast and you can tell me all about it."

"Ok." Shuichi stuffed an assortment of personal items into his pockets and glanced at Hiro. "Um… Hiro, when were you going to the studio?"

"Pretty soon." He smiled lopsidedly at Shuichi. "I'll be out until after dinner, probably. There's a lot to do. You should have the place to yourself all day."

"Thanks!" Shuichi led the way out of the apartment. Eiri followed him, still frowning slightly. He was starting to wonder if their relationship would last until he finished college, much less after that. Did a serious novelist like himself really belong with an excitable and impulsive rock star-to-be like Shuichi?


	5. On the Rocks?

_**Warning:** This chapter contains explicit language and sexual situations._

-o-o-o-

Chapter 5: **On the Rocks?**

"Come on, Shuichi! Get moving!"

"I'm coming!" Shuichi shouted, but he kept pawing through the pile of clothes on the floor. "Aha! Here it is!" Triumphantly, he produced a bright orange hoodie, rather wrinkled from being crumpled up on the floor under a pile of dirty clothes.

"Is that what you've been doing?" Hiro demanded impatiently from the doorway of Shuichi's bedroom. "Why don't you hang it up in the closet so it's easier to find?"

"I'd never think to look for it in the closet," Shuichi said, his voice coming out all muffled because he was pulling the jacket on over his head at that moment. He popped his head out and beamed at Hiro. "There! All set. Let's go."

"Finally!"

Shuichi grabbed his wallet and cell phone and shoved them into the pockets of his cargo shorts as they headed out the door.

"Why do you even bother with a jacket when you're still wearing shorts?" Hiro grumbled. "We're gonna be late."

"Yuki told me not to catch a cold."

Hiro threw him a disgusted look. "That's it? He says that one time and you become a religious jacket-wearer and I've been whining at you about putting on a sweater since we were kids?"

"You're like my mother," Shuichi laughed. "Anyway, I thought it would make you happy seeing me take better care of myself."

"It does," Hiro chuckled. "Now if I could just get you to eat like a normal human being."

"I do! I had ramen last night."

"And the night before that and the night before that and that night before…"

"So I like ramen!" Shuichi interrupted. "It's normal food."

"It wouldn't kill you to eat some rice every once in a while."

"I do!" Shuichi grumbled. "Sheesh!"

Hiro handed Shuichi a helmet. "Put this on. We're taking my bike. It's too late to take the subway." He settled his helmet onto his own head and straddled his bike, parked against the curb in front of the apartment building.

"Why are we in such a hurry?" Shuichi fumbled for a moment with the chin strap. "It's not like we haven't been late before."

"We need to be on time today," Hiro said. "Sakano-san said Wakabe-sama was planning to watch us rehearse today. She wants to hear some of our new songs."

"Why doesn't she just listen to the demos?" Shuichi climbed on behind Hiro and clasped his waist.

"I don't know. All I know is Sakano-san said she would be there. We need to look like professionals and that means being on time. Hang on!" Hiro kicked the motorcycle to like and they roared into the street.

They arrived at the studio with ten minutes to spare.

"You're here! At last!" Mr. Sakano was waiting for them in the sound booth, dancing excitedly from foot to foot. "Wakabe-sama will be here any minute! Get in there and start playing your new song!"

Shuichi blinked at him. "But I haven't written any lyrics for it yet, Sakano-san."

"WHAT!"

"I just finished the melody two days ago. We're still working on the tracks. What's the big rush anyway?"

Mr. Sakano hung his head. "Wakabe-sama thinks we need one more new song for the concert tour. If you don't finish it, I don't know how I will explain it to her. I'll be fired as a bad manager! My dream of retiring with a pension will be lost!" He sniffed and a tear trickled down his cheek.

Hiro patted him on the back. "Don't be so melodramatic, Sakano-san. You know Shuichi insists on writing all of our songs himself, melody AND lyrics. That takes time. But I trust him to finish it. Look Fujisaki's here. We'll go start rehearsing now."

"Yes, of course," Mr. Sakano sighed mournfully.

"I don't know why he makes such a fuss," Shuichi grumbled as he and Hiro went into the studio. "When have I ever not finished a song on time?"

"Well, there was that time a couple of years ago when we were playing at that club and you claimed one song was an instrumental."

"It made a very good instrumental!"

"It sounded better with lyrics."

"That's why I added them later!"

"Oh, it wasn't the plan to have lyrics all along?"

"Shut up!"

"Good morning, gentlemen," Fujisaki greeted them cheerfully. "Did you hear Wakabe-sama is going to watch us today?"

"Yes, we heard."

"Let's do a good job! I really want to impress her."

"Geez, Fujisaki-kun, quit sucking up!" Shuichi snorted. "You already got the job."

"I just want to reassure Wakabe-sama that she made the right choice, that's all," Fujisaki replied archly.

"Whatever. Let's get started."

"All right," Fujisaki said. "I've been working on the arrangement. I think I've come up with a better mix to support the vocals. I'll play it for you." Fujisaki bent over his keyboard and began to play. Shuichi plopped down on a stool to listen. Hiro picked up his guitar but he just held it, tapping one foot while he listened.

"Sounds good," Hiro said when Fujisaki was finished. He grinned at Shuichi. "We can work on fitting in the guitar track while Shuichi writes the lyrics."

"Huh?" Shuichi sat up straight.

"Lyrics would be good." Fujisaki arched an eyebrow at Shuichi.

"Fine!" Shuichi snapped. "I'll start working on the lyrics." He produced a pencil out of a pocket with a dramatic flourish and stalked to the small table in the corner where he did most of his writing when he wasn't at home. But writing on demand was hard sometimes. The music didn't bother him, but it was distracting when Hiro and Fujisaki stopped to talk and bounce ideas off each other. Shuichi finally put on headphones to block them out. He sat on the chair with his feet pulled up and his arms wrapped around his knees while he stared at the blank paper in front of him. Unfortunately, the image of Yuki's face kept appearing on the page instead of words, making it even harder to concentrate. He started when Hiro plopped a hand on his shoulder suddenly. Shuichi snatched off the headphones with a yelp.

"It doesn't look like you're making any progress," Hiro noted.

"I've got ideas brewing," Shuichi replied defensively.

"Well, it's time for a break. Come have some tea."

"No, that's ok. I can think better if I'm alone."

"Ok. We'll be back in fifteen minutes."

"See ya."

When they were gone, Shuichi sighed. The quiet was certainly better, but it still didn't give him any ideas. He looked back at the blank sheet of paper on the desk. The song he had composed had a rather plaintive melody. It seemed to speak of rainy afternoons and loneliness. Of course, that's what Shuichi had been feeling at the time. He had been missing Yuki terribly and the melody had arisen from his sadness. Thinking of Yuki inspired both desire and loneliness. Shuichi still couldn't shake the feeling that Yuki was angry with him about the concert tour. The tour was important but it meant spending even more time apart from him. Shuichi sighed again. "Why does it have to be like this?" he whispered. "Why can't we just get past this point to the part where we're both successful and living together?" Shuichi picked up his pencil and began to write.

-o-o-o-

_In the velvet dark I dream of you._

_I hear the rain but it's part of the dream._

_The rain wets your skin like the tears on my face._

_Your lips move and shape my name._

_But all I hear is the rain._

_The dawn shows me your silhouette._

_Across the room you draw my eye._

_Enthralled by you I try to rise._

_But I'm sleeping still;_

_A prisoner of night._

_In my dream you dazzle me._

_Your scent carried in by the rain._

_Your voice whispers like raindrops on glass._

_Whispers my name._

_But isn't it just the rain?_

_The sound draws me awake but you're not there._

_I rise, but don't escape the dream._

_It clings like threads of gossamer_

_That shimmer in the dark;_

_That only I can see._

Shuichi finished reading and looked up at the others expectantly. Hiro had a thoughtful expression on his face. Fujisaki's eyes were bright and he was nodding slightly. Mr. Sakano's hands were clasped together below his chin and tears glistened on his cheeks.

"Brilliant, Shuichi-kun!" Mr. Sakano exclaimed. "I knew you could do it." He turned to the sound booth. "What do you think, Wakabe-sama?"

Shuichi started. He hadn't realized Ms. Wakabe was there.

She leaned forward and touched the intercom button. "Very nice." She smiled at Shuichi. "Quite soulful. Will you be able to finish the arrangement of the musical and vocal tracks before the concert? I think I would like to add this song to your debut CD."

Shuichi bobbed his head without really thinking about her question. Now that he had lyrics, finishing a song never took that long. As much as he hated admitting it, Fujisaki had a good ear for his melodies and always crafted beautiful arrangements to support his vocals. Hiro and Fujisaki echoed his nod.

"Very good." Ms. Wakabe stood up. "Then you don't need me here making you nervous. I have a meeting to attend. Good day, gentlemen. Keep up the good work." She left and Mr. Sakano heaved a sigh of relief as the door closed behind her.

"Thank goodness!" Mr. Sakano exclaimed. "Now I can stop worrying. We have all the songs set for both the debut CD and the tour."

"Don't say that, Sakano-san," Hiro said brightly. "I'm sure we can come up with something else for you to worry about."

"What!" Mr. Sakano waved his hands in panic. "What are you saying? What else should I be worrying about? Oh! I'm a terrible manager!"

"That's better!" Hiro picked up his guitar with a grin. "That's the Sakano-san we all know and love."

Fujisaki and Shuichi exchanged a glance and snickered.

"Ohhh!" Mr. Sakano groaned. "I'm going back in the sound booth." He slumped out of the room and sank down on a stool behind the sound technician.

The technician was also grinning broadly. He flicked the intercom. "Do you want to record the next session with vocals?"

"Yes, please," Shuichi said, suddenly all business. "I need to adjust the lyrics a little to fit the melody and figure out what I want for the chorus."

"Right." The technician set up for the recording and then counted down on his fingers. The three musicians watched him and when he made a zero with his thumb and forefinger, Fujisaki began to play.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Eiri turned the ticket over in his hands, reading the information on the front again. _Bad Luck Premiere Tour!_ The bold type seemed to make the ticket shout the name. The date and time, less than a week away, followed with the words _VIP Guest_. He picked up the paper Shuichi had folded around the ticket inside the envelope. His haphazard scrawl made Eiri smile.

_Dear Yuki, here is your ticket for our opening night concert. It's a VIP ticket so you get to sit in the special box seats with the best view. Keep the stub because it's also a backstage pass. I want to see you after the concert! See you soon! Love, Shuichi._

"What's that you've got, Eiri?" Tohma appeared at Eiri's elbow, his pale hair tumbling into his eyes.

Eiri mentally kicked himself for forgetting to close the door to his room before opening Shuichi's letter. "It's a ticket to Shuichi's concert. He's going on tour."

"Is he really?" Tohma's eyes gleamed. "You must be very proud of him. But I imagine that means you'll see even less of each other."

"Perhaps." Eiri glanced at the shorter man. "Is there something I can do for you, Tohma?"

"Always." Tohma smiled suggestively. "But in fact, I came to invite you to a study session. A group of us are planning to cram for the exams together."

"When?"

"After dinner in the lounge. Will you join us?"

"Yes, I'll be there."

"Great!"

Tohma left and Eiri closed the door behind him. Then he carefully filed the ticket and letter away in his desk before picking up his cell phone. It only rang two times before Shuichi answered.

"_Yuki! Did you get my letter?_"

"Yes, I just received it today."

"_You'll be at the concert, right?_" Shuichi sounded a little worried, like he was afraid Eiri would back out after having promised to go.

"Yes, I'll be there."

"_That's great! And you'll come backstage afterward?_"

"Yes."

"_I'm so happy!_" Shuichi squealed. "_I'll have my best performance ever, knowing you're out there watching me!_" He lowered his voice to a throaty whisper. "_Yuki, I want to do it._"

"What?"

"_I'm all by myself. Hiro went out. Come on! Do it with me!_"

"You're getting kinky, Shuichi."

"_Please?_"

"Very well." Eiri stepped over to the door and locked it. "Are you still dressed?"

"_No._" Shuichi giggled. "_I just got out of the shower._"

"All right." Eiri unzipped his trousers and sat on the bed. "Get on your knees. We'll start out slow."

-o-o-o-

Eiri finished cleaning up and sank down at his desk with a sigh. Two years ago, an hour of phone sex would not have satisfied him, but now he looked forward to it. _I must be in love, _he thought. He looked around the small room and sighed again. It was neat and clean, exactly the way he liked it. But it still felt empty, especially now with the echo of Shuichi's cries of pleasure still ringing in his ears. Shuichi had climaxed twice during their phone sex and Eiri desperately wished he'd been there to touch him while it happened. Holding Shuichi while he came was one of Eiri's secret delights. Thinking about it made him hard again, even though he'd come during the phone sex too. But he resisted the temptation to stick his hand back inside his pants. Masturbating with Shuichi on the phone was one thing; doing it alone was just pathetic.

He glanced at the clock and realized that he'd missed dinner. The study session in the lounge had probably already started. He gathered up his books and headed downstairs. He needed something to take his mind off of sex.

But the study session didn't last long. The exams weren't for two more weeks, so obviously someone had suggested the study session as a thinly veiled excuse to get everyone together for a party. Only an hour into the session, someone produced a cooler full of beer.

"Let's party!"

"Yeah!"

Tohma plopped down next to Eiri with two beers. He held one out and waggled it. "Have a beer; you look depressed."

"I'm not." But Eiri took the beer anyway and popped it open. "Did you bring the beer?"

"Of course." Tohma took a long drink. "I'm planning to get you drunk and take advantage of you."

Eiri snorted. "A couple of beers aren't going to do that."

Tohma blinked at him with big puppy-dog eyes. "Oh, why be like that? Your lover's not here. You haven't seen him for weeks. I know you're frustrated. Why don't you let me help you ease the tension? He doesn't have to know." Tohma snuggled up against Eiri's side. "You drive me crazy, you know."

"Cut it out, Tohma."

"Oh all right." Tohma sat back. "But if you ask me, you're ignoring the obvious. Little Shuichi spends all his time with that friend of his; what's his name? Hiro-something? Anyway, I remember he was pretty hot and now Shuichi knows he likes doing it with guys. What do you think happens after those jam sessions of theirs? Or after a concert when they're all excited and worked up after the show? I bet you they do it like bunnies and Shuichi's hiding it from you."

"Shut up!" Eiri growled. "Shuichi wouldn't do that. They're just friends." He downed the rest of his beer in one long gulp and stood up. "I thought we were supposed to be studying. If everyone's going to just sit around and get drunk, I'm leaving." He stomped out of the lounge and went back to his room. But despite himself, he couldn't stop thinking about what Tohma had said. His imagination insisted on presenting him with an image of Shuichi and Hiro wrapped in each other's arms, kissing deeply. Then the image became even more graphic and Eiri cursed angrily. "Damn you, Tohma! Shuichi wouldn't do that! He belongs to me!" He stormed out of the dorm and headed for the nearest bar.

He was working on his third tequila bomb when Tohma appeared at his elbow.

"Tsk, tsk, Eiri! Drinking alone?" Tohma sat down next to him and leaned close. "What are you drinking?"

"Tequila bombs." Eiri drained his beer and the shot glass at the bottom clinked against the side. He beckoned to the bartender.

"Oh my! It's a good thing you only have to walk home." Tohma peered into his face. "Although I'm not sure you'll be able to manage that at this point."

"I'm fine."

The waitress brought over another beer and tequila shot. She smiled at Tohma. "May I bring you a drink, sir?"

Tohma returned her smile. "I'll have what he's having."

"Yes, sir." She hurried away.

Eiri picked up the tequila shot and dropped it into the beer glass. He immediately lifted the beer and drank half of it.

"Drowning your heartbreak?" Tohma asked sweetly. "You think I'm right about your little boyfriend and his buddy."

"Stick it up your ass, Tohma!" Eiri finished his beer just as the waitress arrived with Tohma's beer and tequila.

Tohma pushed it toward Eiri. "You can have mine." He watched with sparkling eyes as Eiri downed the drink, swaying slightly. "I think it's time to go." He pulled money out of his pocket and tossed it on the table. "Come on. I'll take you home." Eiri leaned heavily on Tohma as they stumbled out of the bar and into the street. "You know, I don't think we'll make it all the way to the dorm. There's a little hotel just around the corner from here. We'll stop there."

Eiri was only half-listening to Tohma. He really had drunk far too much. He was having trouble focusing. He didn't quite follow what was happening when Tohma paused briefly to talk to someone before dragging him up a flight of stairs and into a bedroom. When Tohma finally dumped him on a bed, Eiri stared around in confusion.

"Where the hell are we?" he muttered. "This isn't my room."

"No, it's not." Tohma sat down on the bed beside him. "I decided the dorm was too far for you to walk in your condition." He began unbuttoning Eiri's shirt. "I'll help you undress."

Eiri pushed his hands away. "I don't need help," he grumbled. It was a lot of work, but he managed to undress himself while Tohma watched. Then he stretched out on the bed naked. A moment later, Tohma slipped in beside him. "What are you doing? I'm trying to sleep."

"Sleep later," Tohma whispered. His slid his hand caressingly across Eiri's chest and down his stomach. "I've waited a long time to be naked in bed with you. I'm not wasting this moment." He began stroking Eiri intimately.

Eiri groaned. "Don't do that! I don't want you touching me!"

"No?" Tohma whispered. "What about this?" And he went down on Eiri eagerly.

"Stop! Tohma…" Eiri gasped helplessly. It felt too good to resist or ignore. He let Tohma suck until the pleasure was overwhelming and then he grabbed Tohma's arm and yanked him upright. Eiri scrambled onto his knees, wrapping an arm around Tohma's waist and pulling the young man tight against him. With his other hand, he grabbed his erection and slid it up against Tohma's buttocks. With a hard thrust of his hips, he jammed himself in, not worrying about whether Tohma was ready. Tohma wanted Eiri to fuck him, so Eiri didn't see any reason to hold back. He grasped Tohma by the hips and pounded into him eagerly, loving the feel of sex. It had been a long time and he desperately needed to fuck.

Tohma cried aloud as Eiri took him and fell forward onto his hands. "Yes! At last! Don't stop! Go deeper! Harder!"

Eiri didn't think about anything except the sex. That was all that mattered. He would just keep doing it until he passed out.


	6. One Future

_**Warning:** This chapter contains explicit language and sexual situations._

-o-o-o-

Chapter 6: **One Future**

Eiri woke up feeling like crap. His head was pounding and his mouth tasted like sand. _I hate it when I drink too much_, he thought. _Shit!_ He rubbed his eyes, trying to clear his vision. Then he stopped and stared up at the ceiling above him. _Where the hell am I?_ He pushed up onto one elbow and looked around. He was in a hotel room. A vague memory about the night before made him roll over suddenly and stare behind him.

Tohma was in the bed with him.

Fearing the worst, Eiri yanked the bedclothes down. They were both naked.

"Oh crap!" he whispered.

Tohma opened one eye and blinked at him. "You're awake already?" He stretched luxuriously. "I'm still exhausted from last night. You were really horny." He smiled seductively. "But then, so was I."

Eiri stared at him. "What the hell are we doing here, Tohma? Whose idea was this?"

"I'd say it was mutual. I've wanted to do this for a long time and last night you were finally ready."

"I was…?" Eiri rubbed his forehead, trying to remember the night before. "I'm not interested in you, Tohma. Not like this. Why would I…?"

Tohma sat up, folding one knee so he could drape his arm across it. "Maybe you just finally recognized that you need me. I'm more devoted to you than that stupid kid you've been seeing. Besides, he doesn't have time for you anymore. You said so. He's got other interests. But I'll always be here for you. You won't have to go without anymore, waiting for him to make time for you."

"Stop it!" Eiri snapped. "That's not how it is!" He rolled out of bed and stood up, his fists clenched. "I was drunk last night. What happened doesn't mean anything."

Tohma crawled to the edge of the bed and put his arms around Eiri's waist. "You can say that, but we both know it's not true. You were much too passionate last night for someone who was just getting laid. You were glad to finally be with me; as happy as I was to be with you. We belong together, Eiri. Accept it."

Eiri closed his eyes. It wasn't true. He knew it wasn't true. Yes, it had been a long time since he'd been with Shuichi and he had been pretty hard up. But he didn't mind waiting to see him. It just made it that much better when they finally did get to be together.

"Damn you, Tohma," he whispered. "Damn you to hell!" His clothes were dumped in a heap on the floor beside the bed. Eiri snatched them up angrily and stalked to the door of the bathroom. "I'm taking a shower. Be gone when I get out." He locked the door behind him and leaned against it for a moment. "What am I going to tell Shuichi? Dammit!"

The shower didn't make his thoughts any clearer. His body got clean but his mind was still a mess. Eiri leaned against the wall, letting the hot water slide over his skin. He thought about the last time he'd taken a shower with Shuichi and how eager Shuichi had been for sex. He was always eager; always ready to give Eiri exactly what he wanted. He was impulsive and self-centered, true, but he was also playful, passionate and delightfully sensuous. He was the perfect lover.

And Eiri had betrayed him with someone he didn't give a damn about. In his mind, meaningless sex was much worse than purposely two-timing a lover. It implied that you didn't care enough about your lover to consider sex between you special. But sex with Shuichi was very special to Eiri.

"Dammit!" he whispered again. He rested his forehead against the wall. "I can't tell Shuichi I betrayed him. Not with someone like Tohma. He would never forgive me for it. I deserve his contempt."

He finished his shower and tried to smooth the wrinkles out of his clothes before dressing. When he opened the door, he was not surprised to find Tohma dressed and sitting on the edge of the bed with one leg folded over the other.

"I thought I told you to leave," Eiri growled.

"I knew you didn't mean it," Tohma stroked his fingers through his hair. "We're friends, Eiri."

"Not anymore." Eiri folded his arms across his chest. "You tricked me into betraying someone extremely important to me. That's hardly the behavior of a friend."

Tohma frowned slightly. "You make it sound worse than it is. All we did was fuck."

"Right." Eiri leaned forward and fixed his eyes on Tohma's. "Maybe that's all it means to you, but my relationship with Shuichi is deeper than that. You will never get from me what I have with him. If you can accept that, maybe we can still be friends. But we're never going to have sex again and if you keep pushing me..."

Tohma sighed. "I was afraid you'd say that." He stood up. "I suspected last night would be the only chance I ever got to savor the charms of the beautiful Eiri Yuki. I suppose I shall just have to make do with the wonderful memory." He tipped his head to the side and gave Eiri his most charming smile. "Let's go back to the dorm. I'm sure I can find a way to make this up to you."

Eiri's eyes narrowed. Was Tohma really content to let it rest at that? Eiri had his doubts. He suspected that within a few days, Tohma would begin flirting with him again. And then Eiri would have to decide how important Tohma's friendship was.

Tohma patted his arm. "Don't give me that look, Eiri. I'm not going to tell your little Shuichi about this. It'll just be between us. Let's go." He stepped to the door and Eiri followed him. He wasn't sure he believed Tohma wouldn't let this incident slip out and he couldn't escape the guilt that was welling up inside of him. What would he tell Shuichi? Or should he say nothing and hope Shuichi never found out? Eiri glared at Tohma's back. Did he even want to stay friends with Tohma if his relationship with Shuichi fell apart?

-o-o-o-o-

Eiri threw himself into his schoolwork in an attempt to forget about his infidelity, but it didn't work. He hadn't expected to feel so guilty. He'd cheated on lovers in the past and it had never bothered him particularly. But then, he'd never been in love with anyone before. His attractions had always been physical, not emotional. But it was different with Shuichi. His passion for Shuichi did not rest entirely in his loins. Eiri liked being with him whether they were having sex or not. He simply liked Shuichi and hated the idea of hurting him. But Eiri was remembering more and more about the night with Tohma. He had fucked Tohma several times; more times than mere drunkenness could account for. Maybe Tohma was right and Eiri had secretly harbored a desire to do it with him.

It was time for class and Eiri started to gather up his books, but he kept stopping to stare at nothing. "I can't tell him. I can't tell Shuichi I fucked Tohma, but there's nothing to worry about because I still love him. He won't believe me. He'll hate me for it." He folded his hands into fists, watching the knuckles turn white. "Maybe I should just end it. We hardly see each other anymore anyway. He has his music and it's more important to him now than I am."

Eiri picked up his cell phone, but he hesitated for a moment before punching Shuichi's number. It was Tuesday morning. Shuichi might still be home, but with his concert in three days, he was probably rehearsing. But he should still have his phone with him. Eiri punched the speed dial number for Shuichi and put the phone to his ear.

"_Hello?_" Shuichi sounded a little breathless. He obviously hadn't looked at the phone before he answered it, because he normally greeted Eiri by name.

"Hey, Shuichi."

"_Yuki! I didn't expect you to call! Is everything ok?_"

Eiri closed his eyes. It was if Shuichi knew something was wrong. "Um, yeah, I'm ok, but I wanted to talk to you."

"_What's up?_"

"I…" Eiri bit his lip. "Shuichi, I don't know how to say this. I think maybe we should stop seeing each other. We're both pretty busy and it's hard for either of us to try to make time for the other. I think it would be easier if…"

"_Yuki! I don't want to break up! I don't care if it's hard to see each other. Even one day a month is better than not at all! Please!_"

The anguish in Shuichi's voice tore at Eiri's heart. "I know you feel that way right now, but with all your concerts and rehearsals, I'm sure you'll forget about me pretty quickly."

"_How can you say that! I'll never forget about you! You mean everything to me, Yuki! Please don't break up with me! Please!_"

Eiri could hear Shuichi's tears through the phone. He could imagine the young man's face as he clutched the phone, his tears wetting the faceplate. It made him feel even guiltier for betraying Shuichi's love with Tohma. "I'm sorry, Shuichi," he said as calmly as he could. "I really do think this is the best thing to do. I need to focus on my classes and my writing and you have your career to think about. It's time for us to move on. Goodbye."

"_No! Wait, Yuki…!_"

Eiri disconnected and immediately turned the phone off. "I love you, Shuichi."

-o-o-o-o-

Shuichi dialed Yuki's number over and over again, but he couldn't get through; Yuki's phone was off.

"What did I do?" Shuichi wept to himself. "What did I do to make him so angry with me? I'm sorry, Yuki! Please answer your phone! Tell me what I did and I'll make it up to you! Please don't break up with me!" Shuichi sank to his knees, clutching the useless phone to his chest and weeping helplessly. "Oh, please, Yuki! I'm sorry!"

Hiro found Shuichi sitting in the middle of the floor in their apartment hours later still weeping.

"Shuichi, what's the matter? You were supposed to meet us at the studio hours ago." Hiro dropped to his knees in front of his friend, his dark eyes filled with concern.

"It's Yuki!" Shuichi sniffed. He scrubbed his nose with the back of his hand and fresh tears began to fall. "He broke up with me!"

"What! Just like that? Did he say why?" Hiro put a comforting hand on Shuichi's shoulder.

"No, he didn't say anything!" Shuichi wailed. "I must have done something to upset him, but I don't know what. I mean, I talk about what I'm doing too much and I don't listen to him as much as I should, but I read his book and everything! I was going to surprise him next time by asking him to autograph it for me."

"He really didn't give any reason?" Hiro asked gently.

Shuichi shook his head. "He just said it was too hard having a relationship when we hardly ever see each other."

Hiro sat back on his heels. "That's crap!" he snapped. "He knew it would be like this going in. Who started this relationship, anyway?"

"He did," Shuichi whispered.

"That's right," Hiro said sharply. "As I recall, he seduced you."

Shuichi blinked at Hiro in surprise. "He did seduce me!" He sat up straighter. "He took my virginity and nearly cost me my sister. What right does he have to break up with me?"

Hiro nodded. "Damn right. He owes you an explanation. He can't just drag you through all this and then dump you when it's not convenient for him anymore."

Shuichi jumped to his feet with his fists clenched. "You're absolutely right, Hiro! That sonuvabitch owes me! I'm going to make him tell me to my face why he's dumping me, dammit!"

"Good, because his timing sucks. We leave on tour in three days. I can't have you sitting around crying over Yuki."

"I'm not going to cry over him!" Shuichi announced dramatically. He shook his fist in the air. "He loves me and I'll prove it to him!"

Hiro chuckled. "Great!" He glanced at his watch. "It's still early. I can take you down to his college on my bike. I'll drop you off and pick you up in the morning. We have to be in the studio by nine tomorrow morning. I think we can make it."

Shuichi flung his arms around Hiro's neck. "You're the best, Hiro! I promise I'll make it up to you!"

"Just don't flake out on me on this tour."

"I won't! You'll see! We're going to be the hottest band in Japan!"

-o-o-o-o-

Now that he'd broken up with Shuichi, Eiri felt even worse than before. He missed him so much that he imagined he could hear his voice when a group of students walked by in the hall outside his dorm room door that evening. Then someone pounded firmly on his door and Eiri sighed. He really didn't want to see anyone. He opened the door and stared in surprise.

"Shuichi! What are you doing here?" Eiri blinked at him in confusion. He hadn't thought Shuichi even knew where his college was, much less his dorm room.

"Forget that!" Shuichi growled. He shoved past Eiri and stalked to the center of the room. Eiri quickly closed the door as Shuichi turned to face him. "I want to know why you broke up with me!" Shuichi demanded. "It's not fair! You didn't even give me a chance. What did I do?"

"You didn't do anything." Eiri couldn't meet his eyes. Shuichi's righteous anger made him feel even worse about his infidelity.

Shuichi's eyes went round. "If I didn't do anything, why did you break up with me? I have the right to know. You owe me at least that much."

Eiri couldn't argue with him. "It's my fault. I thought you would be better off without me. I… I was unfaithful."

"What!" Shuichi stared. "Who was it? That jackass Tohma? Did he get you drunk?"

"I was drunk at the time, but…"

"Goddamn you, Yuki!" Shuichi stamped forward and slapped Eiri across the face hard enough to snap his head back. "You broke up with me because _you_ were unfaithful? If anyone gets to break up over that it's me! Don't you love me anymore?"

The question stabbed Eiri to the heart. "Of course I love you, Shuichi. You're the only person I've ever loved."

"You sonuvabitch!" Shuichi slapped him again. "And you didn't even think to give me the chance to forgive you? Do you think my love is that shallow?" Shuichi grabbed the front of Eiri's shirt and hauled him close, staring directly into his hazel eyes. "I love you with all my heart and soul, Eiri Yuki! I can forgive you for anything, including being too stupid to realize that." He yanked Eiri's mouth down to his and kissed him hard. "Now you take me to bed right now and prove to me how sorry you are for betraying me and for breaking my heart! I expect to come at least five times in the next hour. Don't you dare disappoint me!"

"Shuichi…"

"No excuses, Yuki! Are we lovers or not?"

Eiri stared at him. Shuichi's dark eyes bored intently into his, demanding an answer. What could he say? He loved this excitable, impulsive, talented young man with an almost helpless passion. Thinking about a life without Shuichi tormented him. He didn't want to be separated from him.

"We are lovers, Shuichi."

"Then tell me you love me and take me to bed, dammit!"

Eiri embraced him. Shuichi felt wonderful in his arms. Perfect and desirable and… Eiri kissed him. He couldn't help himself. All the weeks and months apart suddenly felt like an eternity. He didn't want to waste one more second. He may have thought he was being noble, but all he'd done was hurt Shuichi and for no good reason.

"I'm sorry, Shuichi!" Eiri whispered. "I didn't know what to do. I… I'm not used to feeling guilty about my behavior. I missed you and I needed to get laid. I got drunk and Tohma was there…"

Shuichi pressed his fingers against Eiri's lips. "I don't care about that. That's not what I want to hear."

Eiri blinked at him.

"You know what I want to hear." Shuichi moved his fingers and touched his lips to Eiri's. "Just say it and I'll forgive you."

"I love you, Shuichi."

Shuichi wrapped his arms tight around Eiri's neck. His happy smile lit up his entire face. "I love you, too, Yuki. I'm sorry I can't spend as much time with you as you want. I'll try to do better."

"You don't have to do that. I don't have to study every weekend."

"You'll still come to my concert in Tokyo on Friday?"

"I'll be there."

Shuichi laughed happily. "Now I want to get thoroughly fucked! And you better do it with me more times than you did it with Tohma."

Eiri flushed. "I honestly don't remember how many times I fucked him. I was really drunk."

"Well, you're not drunk now." Shuichi rubbed the front of Eiri's pants and he immediately got hard. "I want lots of foreplay, followed by some serious fucking in multiple positions."

"And you want to come at least five times," Eiri concluded with a smile.

"Feel free to strive for more than that. I don't feel like sleeping."

Eiri unzipped Shuichi's shorts and put his hand in. He rubbed Shuichi intimately and smiled as it swelled in his hand. "I didn't kiss him, you know. And I didn't touch him like this."

Shuichi shivered. "I'm glad to hear that."

Eiri continued to stroke him. "But I missed touching you like this. I missed touching your naked body and licking you in all my favorite places."

Shuichi groaned. "Are you just going to talk about it? I'm getting really hard."

"I know." Eiri kissed him warmly. "I was thinking about licking it."

"Oh my…" Shuichi gasped. "Don't hold back!"

"All right." Eiri got down on his knees and pulled Shuichi's shorts and underwear down. He was delightfully stiff and Eiri stroked it slowly with his tongue. Shuichi groaned. Eiri watched Shuichi's face as he licked him. Shuichi's eyes were closed and his face was flushed. He was already into it. Eiri began to suck and Shuichi gasped aloud, his fingers tangling in Eiri's hair.

"Oh Yuki!"

Eiri sucked him off. It was a cheap way to start on the five comes, but Eiri liked doing it. He wondered briefly what Tohma would think if he knew. Well, he would never find out, because Eiri only liked doing this with Shuichi and he had no intention of betraying Shuichi's love again. He was not going to do anything to risk his relationship with his adorable lover. He sat back and smiled up at Shuichi. "Why don't you take your clothes off? I should really lock the door before I do anything else."

Shuichi's eyes goggled. "The door is unlocked! What if someone came in while you were…?"

Eiri stood up with a smile. "Then everyone would know how much I love you." He stepped to the door and locked it. "But no one gets to see how satisfying a lover you are." Shuichi was still standing there staring at him, so Eiri walked up to him and pulled his jacket and t-shirt off over his head. "I'm keeping your body all to myself." He leaned over and sucked Shuichi's right nipple, teasing it with the tip of his tongue. "I'm going to enjoy every exquisite inch of you."

Shuichi drew in a sharp breath. "Do you want to tie me up?"

"That's a wonderful idea. I'll handcuff you to the bed and rim you until you come again."

"Oh my!" Shuichi's eyelids drooped as Eiri nibbled on his neck. "You have handcuffs?"

"Padded ones." Eiri caressed Shuichi's ear with his tongue. "I was planning to bring them with me the next time I visited you, before I foolishly got drunk."

"I think you should get them out."

"Very well. But first, I want to see you completely naked." Eiri slid his hands down Shuichi's legs and pushed his pants the rest of the way down. He had to drop to one knee to get them all the way down so, since he was down there, he licked Shuichi briefly.

Shuichi shuddered. "You're making me leak."

"I noticed." He tossed Shuichi's shorts and underwear aside and stood up. "Now then, lie down on the bed on your back and spread your legs." While Shuichi complied, he went to the desk and dug the handcuffs out of the back of one of the drawers. He dangled them from one finger. "Once I put these on, you'll be completely under my control. You have to do whatever I say."

"Yes!" Shuichi panted. His face was flushed and his eyes were bright with excitement. He lifted his arms above his head and Eiri captured one wrist inside a cuff. Then he looped the other one through the railing at the head of the bed and fastened the remaining cuff around his other wrist.

"I used to complain about these cheap bed frames," Eiri remarked casually as he undressed, "but now the simple metal frame seems quite useful." Shuichi writhed, tugging against the handcuffs. "They don't hurt, do they?"

"No." Shuichi shook his head.

"Good." Completely naked, Eiri climbed onto the bed on his knees and got between Shuichi's legs. He grasped Shuichi's ankles and pushed his legs farther apart, bending his knees so that Shuichi was spread wide open. "Now it's time to have fun." Eiri bent over, inching backward until he could put his face comfortably between Shuichi's legs. "I expect you to make a lot of noise. I want people to ask me later what I was doing to you in here." And then he began to apply his tongue. He explored Shuichi deeply, licking him until the young man was twisting with excitement and crying aloud. He licked until Shuichi was bucking up against his mouth begging for deeper and deeper penetration. Eiri rimmed him until Shuichi gasped with joy and went momentarily rigid, and then shook with orgasm. When Shuichi finally went limp, Eiri sat up. "That was good, wasn't it?"

Shuichi nodded weakly.

Eiri slid fingers into Shuichi. "You seem to be nice and wet now, too." Shuichi writhed helplessly as Eiri worked his fingers in and out. "I think you're ready for the next phase." He shifted forward, lifting Shuichi by the hips. "Let's see if I can get two for the price of one out of you."

Shuichi moaned and then his moan turned to a ragged gasp as Eiri thrust into him. "Yes!" he gasped. "Fuck me hard!"

"Your wish is my command, love slave," Eiri whispered and he began pounding into Shuichi. Shuichi felt even better than he had the last time Eiri had taken him. He came almost immediately but he didn't let that stop him. He drove into Shuichi at an angle and rhythm that he knew would drive Shuichi wild and Shuichi responded uncontrollably. His head tipped back and he cried aloud through his open mouth, his fists opening and closing as he pulled helplessly against the handcuffs. He looked utterly beautiful and more desirable than anything Eiri could imagine. He leaned over, driving himself even deeper into Shuichi. "My Shuichi!" he panted. "My love! You're the only one I want to do this with. The only one."

"I love you, Yuki!" Shuichi cried. "I love you so much!"

"That's what I want!" Eiri gasped back. "I want you to be mine!"

Shuichi came but Eiri didn't let it stop there. He paused while Shuichi's climax spurted out of him and then he resumed, thrusting deep into Shuichi again.

Shuichi bucked his hips up against him, gasping with joy. "I can't take any more! It's too good! Oh god!"

"You'll keep taking it until I say you're done, love slave!" Eiri groaned. "I want to explode inside you."

Eiri leaned forward onto his hands, planted firmly on either side of Shuichi's torso, and pushed his knees up against the inside of Shuichi's wide-spread thighs. Then he drove with the full power of his hips and thighs, ramming himself into Shuichi like a pile driver. Shuichi cried out, his body bucking and bouncing in response to Eiri's hard thrusts. Climax captured them in the same instant and they came together, their bodies shaking as orgasm shuddered through them.

When he finished, Eiri gazed into Shuichi's eyes with a loving smile. "I still owe you one more, but I need to rest for a moment."

"So do I," Shuichi panted, but he was grinning broadly. "That was really good. I love it when you take me hard like that."

"I know," Eiri nodded. "But you also like it when I'm gentle."

Shuichi giggled. "Is that how you're gonna do it next?"

"Um hmm." Eiri pulled out and put Shuichi's legs together. Then he lay down next to Shuichi and embraced him. "I feel like an idiot for not trusting you to forgive me. Before I met you, I was never faithful to anyone and I thought I had changed. I was ashamed to find out I still had some of my old bad habits."

"I don't expect you to completely change for me," Shuichi said quietly. "I just want to be the only one you love."

Eiri kissed him gently. "You are the only one I love, Shuichi. And I want you to always love me." He kissed Shuichi deeply and began rubbing himself against Shuichi's hip. He also started stroking Shuichi slowly. Shuichi moaned softly. Eiri pushed him onto his side and moved his hips up and down until he found Shuichi's opening. He thrust in, moving slowly and deliberately, enjoying the way Shuichi's body clasped him and resisted his movement.

Shuichi let out his breath in a long deep sigh. "That feels so good!"

Eiri kept kissing and stroking Shuichi as he moved in him. Shuichi was delightfully hard and Eiri made a mental note to go down on him again later.

"Yuki?" Shuichi breathed. "Did you like doing it with Tohma?"

Eiri thought for a moment. "Not really. I came but it didn't really satisfy me. I think that's why I kept doing it. But it was never going to feel right with him. You're the only one who feels right to me."

"Because you love me?"

"Yes." Eiri kissed him deeply. "You are my one and only love, Shuichi Shindou."

-o- The End -o-

_Yeah, I know: Eiri just keeps getting more and more out-of-character, but I can't help it. I just love the image of him gently embracing Shuichi and giving him soft, slow kisses. With tongue. And then maybe a little nipple licking. And then…Damn! If I keep this up, I'll have to write another chapter! Thanks for reading!_


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